Danny and Jackie

Sanaa at Kidani Village near AK Lodge

2011-01-09T15:05:00.004Z

Its always exciting when booking your ADRs to be adding established destinations you have never visited for various reasons or in the case of Sanaa, a totally new establishment. Sanaa actually opened May 1st 09 in Kidani Village, a DVC property that's part of the Animal Kingdom Lodge compound but for some reason we missed it last time probably as the Wave seemed to be being pushed more as the new restaurant of the year. Using the Disney Transportation System it should be a reasonably easy place to get to. Technically a bus to any park will do then change for AK Lodge. Its quicker to go straight to AK itself though as the Lodge is only a few minutes away and the bus will stop at Kidani Village first anyway.

I say should because I'm not sure whats going on this year but so far the buses seem to have been rather poor compared to previous trips; sporadic, infrequent and in typical British style you wait for what seems an age in freezing conditions only for three to turn up at once. However once we arrive at Kidani Village the restaurant is easy to find and we are checked in and given the usual vibrating buzzer. You can walk out from the restaurant's lobby to a large outdoor grazing area where thougthfully a large fire is roaring and African CMs are on hand to point out the various animals on the plains.

It's not too long before something's buzzing in my pocket and our hostess is taking us to our table. I like Sanaa straight away, the lighting is atmospheric and well designed and the whole place is just beautiful. Chris our server goes carefully and in great detail through all the menu choices which is a fusion of Indian and African cuisine with more emphasis towards the Indian side. To be fair coming from a country where Indian cuisine is almost the national dish it's all quite amusing, but Chris delivers his knowledge with real enthusiasm.

A selection of breads and pickles are selected to accompany the meal and poppadoms to start; though oddly the breads are listed as a starter which seems a little strange to me. At home Indian cuisine in our town is in general dominated by a couple of established restaurants and countless others who specialize in takeaway only. My simple rule with an Indian restaurant is consistency and it's here I find they always let themselves down. Good one week, the same dish can be poor the following week as if the chefs making it up as he goes along. One other key element is the quality of the Nan breads out of the tandoor. Beautiful thin and light one week, a lump of dough the next.

At Sanaa the breads arrive and we are transported to Nan bread heaven. Light and thin with just the right balance between the crisp outside and fluffy interior. The Paratha is also a joy though I would have preferred the Paneer cheese to be more "lumpy" rather than blended into the fried paratha bread as the whole point of Paneer is the cheese can stand the cooking process without melting. Poppadoms which are probably the same the world over are fine but here its the pickles that are the revelation. I will never now be able to have mango chutney from a Pataks or Sharwoods jar again without thinking of the utter delight that was served to us in Sanaa. Beautiful soft fresh mangoes diced with a subtle spice mixture and a good amount of freshly chopped chili for heat has now spoilt us for life.

Sanaa has quite a good menu system in which you choose either Tandoor dishes or assemble a selection of curries. On top of that there are fish dishes in spiced broths. I decided to try the curries and selected two from the choices that had very different styles. On the left we have a more Thai than Indian or African influenced Shrimp dish in a green curry sauce; well spiced with a good amount of heat, very fresh in the mouth with coconut, coriander and chili being the prominent flavours. The Beef dish on the right was more unusual and probably not something I would choose again. The beef was cooked beautifully, real slow pot stuff that melted away in the mouth but the sauce was a little on the sweet side for me. Fluffy Basmati rice, Tusker Beer and Mango Lassi completed the whole dish.

Jackie chose what is described on the menu rather simply as "Todays Sustainable Fish". To be honest Chris described this so well I almost had it myself. It consisted of piece of Arctic Char imported from Iceland, a salmon like fish that tastes very like sea trout and will probably be the big new sustainable hit of the next few years. This is served with scallops and shrimps in a lightly spiced curry broth with vegetables. The broth is described as a blend of white wine, fish stock, citrus with light thai curry spices. Its absolutely divine, has just the right amount of kick so as to give slight heat but not overpower either the fish or the scallops and shrimp and was the star dish of the night. Casa Grand Pinot Grigio washed it down for Jackie with a Mango Lassi on hand for cooling purposes.

On to desserts and I opted for the sampler (there being no cheese and I suppose chewing on an uncooked lump of Paneer may be taking my obsession a little too far). Whilst good I felt one of the problems with the sampler was it was hard to pick out individual flavours in the dishes. For instance the Chai Cream was really overpowered by that dark side on the flavour spectrum, cinnamon. A small criticism, as its not a place I would visit with a high expectation for fab desserts although Jackie's Mango pudding was excellent, a light creamed mango 'fool' layered with fresh mango coulis on top accompanied by a coconut macaroon. Just the thing after a spice fest.

All in all this was one of our favourite meals of the week. Great atmosphere, superb food and such a wonderful setting. Can't wait to return.

Narcoosees Dec 26th 2010

2011-01-09T11:13:00.001Z

Narcoosees is one of the Restaurants that has been a regular stop on our list for many years. We love the setting, the menu and the ambiance. Timed correctly a meal can have an interlude on the jetty for the water pageant and for the first MK firework display. On top of that we simply love seafood , though it has to be said Narcoosess offers quite a lot more than that.

The original plan had simply been to cross over from Epcot where we had spent an EMH day to the MK on the Monorail and from there take the launch across the lake which conveniently disposes of you on Narcoosees doorstep. However with this being our first full day combined with a 5.45am Stitch wake up call for the EMH we came back to the resort mid afternoon to recharge our batteries.

Getting back to the Narcoosees on Disney Transport proves to be a bit of a chore, especially with a wind chill that's almost freezing. We have to wait what feels like longer but must be the full 20mins for a MK bus to turn up only to find when we arrive at the MK that the launches are not running to the Grand Floridian (probably because the lakes frozen up :) ). This means taking the monorail the wrong way around the lake and getting dropped off at the wrong side of the Grand Floridian.

Eventually we arrive 25 mins late but are soon seated. I'm not sure if Narcoosees has a heating problem tonight or its interior design simply makes it difficult to keep warm when its cold outside (which seems to be when we come at Christmas). A CM has actually been placed on the door to ensure it remains shut but shes fighting a losing battle against the icy wind.

Our server sorts out the drinks and wine and food is ordered, Jackie orders the Crab crusted Mahi Mahi, served on a bed of crushed potatoes with french green beans and a meyer lemon sauce.

The fish is well cooked, just on the point and the crust is well finished with a proper crisp texture rather than something to wet that's trying to slide off and its well seasoned with a good crab flavour coming through. The potatoes are a good accompaniment keeping the dish well balanced and grease free. However its the sauce here that's the real star, those meyer lemons really making a difference. A meyer Lemon is a completely different beast to the acidic beauty you use to put in your G&T; its soft full of lemony buttery depth (is that a word) but with none of the harshness or bitterness. This simple sauce brings the whole dish together.

On the last trip I seemed to recall looking longingly at the table next to ours as they tucked happily into a surf and turf and I'm torn between it and the full Maine Lobster which I was watching the chef prepare with robotic precision as we waited for our table. In the end I go for the classic surf and turf a) Because I have never had it here before (in fact I don't think I have ever had a meat dish here before) and b) because I need a bottle of red wine to warm my bones up rather than the chilled sauvignon Jackie is drinking and it will go nicely with the fillet steak.

I do have one immediate issue with this dish as its presented in front of me which is that for a $59 entree (before we have even started adding tax and tips on top) presentation for a signature restaurant leaves a lot to be desired.To me it needs a rectangular plate not a round one with the elements arranged in a straight line also the sprouting broccoli looks rather over steamed. Still the truth is in the tasting.

Whilst those two medallions of filet mignon may look on the small size they are very very rich, nicely tender and cooked exactly how I asked (rare). To be honest I find that fillet is more about texture than taste and would much prefer a piece of good sirloin if I was after taste but the rich onion demi glaze served with the fillet is an excellent accompaniment to that buttery texture adding that depth of taste I always find this cut of meat lacks.

The lobster has that firm and slightly chewy texture in the mouth you always get with large maine beasts. However the depth of flavour is off the scale with a lovely sweetness in the mouth. I personally would have preferred a little thermidor sauce to complement it rather than the clarified butter Americans seem so fond off - but when in Rome.

The Duchess potato is further enhanced with a little onion and some small ham pieces and is very well seasoned. I could eat this all week given a choice of potato sides.

On to desserts. Jackie has the sweet tooth; my sweet tooth extends about as far as a bar of good chocolate but does not really get excited at a dessert menu. Last trip I was very disappointed to find Narcoosess had actually removed the Cheese Selection from the dessert menu but its back this year as the Artisinal Cheese Selection which is basically the same selection the California Grill has always served. A lovely choice of locally produced American Cheeses and thankfully not a lump of Monterey Jack Among them. Jackie tucks into the Ozark Apple and Walnut cake with poached cranberries and ice cream. Must have been good as there's no time to get the camera out before its gone!

All in all then yet another successful trip to Narcoosees.

WDW Christmas and New Year 2010

2011-01-04T13:55:00.000Z

Just a link to start with for the photo album from this years Christmas and New Year trip to WDW. By tonight I will annotate the photos into a trip report and then hopefully in the next day or two I will start to get the food reports into some sort of order. This year had us choosing quite a few new places on site (places we have previously never tried for one reason or another and places that are themselves new establishments - Sanaa being a particular highlight)

Happy new year from all over the world

2011-01-02T15:59:00.003Z

After a very early start in California we had a quick trip to Mars followed by giving some help to General Motors. Later a superb lunch was had in France; the wine was excellent and the food lovely as usual apart from that pesky blue rat appearing during desert :) In England the New year arrived at 7.00pm and was sung in by the Beatles. Later the lake exploded and we had a polite dinner in Japan where the wine was nice and the Saki smooth and then we rocked the house out with Mark Sanchez in Italy and Dominik Morrison in China who likes his guests with a nice BBQ flavour!! Every Pavilion was exciting and the whole atmosphere was electric. A truly wonderful experience. Now whats needed is a nice long rest.

Motorhead - King Georges Hall

2010-11-25T18:07:00.010Z

Perfect mix of old & new tracks. First time we have actually seen them and it was great to watch them almost on the doorstep. To say we are not really die hard fans, this was a great gig.. Lemmy is just a great entertainer.

Westminster

2010-11-03T13:31:00.005Z

A superb weekend in London saw us taking advantage of using our local MP to take a visit inside Westminster. No photos were allowed other than in the old Hall, but we were taken inside the Lords, Commons and stood at the dispatch box (Commons rarely sits on a Friday), The Queens Robing Rooms etc.

It really was a wonderful experience to be in such a historic yet fully working part of out countries working political environment.

The Hall in the picture is the oldest part of the complex and features the largest medieval timber roof in Northern Europe. This hammer beam roof was commissioned in 1393 by Richard II

Albert Hall - Porcupine Tree

2010-11-03T13:17:00.003Z

Highlight of the incident tour this was indeed a special place to see Porcupine Tree close this tour. Its rather odd though, as great as the gig was Porcupine Tree always feel better to me in a smaller venue and they did not seem to make this appearance at such a special venue operatic or special enough in the way I feel Opeth managed it a few months ago (which is odd as I consider myself a lot less a regular listener of Opeths music than I do Porcupine Trees). I think Opeth nailed it on the head by playing an entire album and making it an epic event in such grand surroundings.

Porcupine Tree felt on reflection to much like "an evening with" and the pacing was a little unsettled. That's not to say it was not enjoyable, I just wish they had made more of it.

South West Ireland

2010-09-20T08:30:00.010Z

Excellent weather and an enjoyable week exploring the area. Accomodation was fine if a little on the large size.

South West Wales

2010-06-24T17:51:00.008Z

A cosy farm cottage for a long weekend break in the South of Wales. The trip down took us through some beautiful scenery but it was good to arrive and let Jackie have a deserved drink. The weather was absolutely perfect; blue skys and fluffy clouds. Did a little research before setting out and have pre booked a couple of restaurants, tonight we are off to Y Polyn which is about 20 minutes away just past Camarthen. Y Polyn was voted one of the twenty best places to eat last year by the Observer. Put simply the food is superb and the setting wonderful. Lunch the following day was at The Shed in Porthgain. An idyllic setting on a sunny day. We then spent time in St Davids and were privileged to watch rehearsals for the festival in the Cathedral. More pictures available in the gallery.

Update.

2010-05-23T09:01:00.004Z

Mother and calf spent the morning in the shade of an old tree before both walking of and joining the rest of the herd. A slight delay posting due to the heat practically melting one of the cables inside the PC yesterday. Perhaps we need to move the PC away from the French Windows!!!

Still warm and a little muggy here; the bunnies are not to happy about it preferring to come inside and hide under the beds in the cooler bedrooms.

Drama beyond the garden fence.

2010-05-21T21:18:00.009Z

Finally its warm enough to eat outside without a roaring wood fire and six jumpers, but tonight had added drama as well. A lone cow had been standing in the reed bed all evening, still and solitary; unusual behaviour as they usually always travel and move as a herd. Some time later the Farmer arrived in his pickup having spotted her himself as he did his rounds. It soon became sadly apparent that she had given birth in the reed bed and lost the calf. However to our surprise another calf appeared from out of the long reeds, urged on by the farmer to stand and make its way to the mother.
Twin calves; but unfortunately this had led to a problem in the calf's front feet being folded over, making it hard for it to stand and feed from the mother. The farmer left to collect a dry milk mix and we helped him by supplying the fresh water to mix it as we are the nearest house to the field.

Trying to get the calf to feed from the mother was not working so it was time for the bottle, however the mother seemed rather interested in the feed as well which meant the farmers hand had to be called on to keep the mother occupied whilst the calf was given a full bottle...

The area near the reeds is to boggy for the calf to be left out overnight so the farmer decided to move the calf and mother to the higher dry ground. Talking to him afterwards he seemed to think one bottle would be enough to keep it sustained for the night and he would then re check it tomorrow and decide if it would need splints for a while to support the front feet until they strengthened.

To be honest I had no idea that these yearly visitors to the fields actually gave birth freely in the reed beds, but the farmer told us how its a favourite spot for the mothers and they regularly keep calves there for days often without his knowledge. I thought everything was clinical and controlled these days and it was nice to find it isn't.

The Derby Arms - Longridge

2010-04-27T16:46:00.006Z

A trip out to the Derby Arms last weekend for lunch. A popular restaurant specialising in Game and Fish according to the blurb. Inside it's traditionally decorated with two dining rooms to either side of the lounge. A full menu was available for lunch including a large board of specials and a more traditional choice from the a la carte; a Table D'hote is also available. The wine list is good and varied and is nicely laid dividing the wines into drinking styles.

We both started with the monk fish but cooked in different ways. Jackie's was prepared Spanish style in an oven baked terracotta dish swimming in garlic oil, I went for the beer battered tempura style. Jackie's was far more tasty though I have to say the batter was cooked to crispy perfection (which makes a change). To be fair Monk fish is just a little too bland for this treatment and this needed a dipping sauce of some sort to give it some life.

The main course was one of my all time cheap cut favourites, a slow cooked pork belly roast. A dish that's easy to get so badly wrong this version was as good as any I have ever had the pleasure of tasting, including the 24hour V&A version in Florida. Served as a full slice and with the texture of butter it had a taste depth that's off the scale. It was accompanied by a separate piece of crackling that was so good it could have been marketed as a new luxury snack. The sauce was a Bramley apple and cream jus that had just the right balance between sourness and sweet. Predictably I finished with cheese.

Jackies main was Coquille st Jacques, well presented and well cooked and for dessert she had a rather indifferent Rhubarb pie which lacked a certain something.

All in all a good experience and we will certainly return.

Opeth @ Albert Hall

2010-04-25T17:19:00.007Z

Please excuse the random ramblings in this blog. Its been a while since I actually put keyboard to screen and somehow this gem of a weekend seems to have passed by despite being a major event in itself.

We changed train companies (as if anyone interested) and slipped down to the city on the Virgin Pendolino service from Manchester Piccadilly instead of our normal Leeds to Kings Cross service. Nice and quick, maybe more uncomfortable but it dropped us in Euston bob on time and with a small walk to the hotel in Russell Square.

Bags dumped we set off on the food part of the day, a lunch at Browns in Mayfair which is only a quick 20 min walk from the hotel.. Lunch was excellent value and the wine a nice "pick me up".

We then headed to Westminster Abbey (unfortunately Daniela Nardini was not there to great us at Westminster despite her interest last time) where we spent the afternoon exploring and following the excellent Audio guide. I fully understand that people do get put off buy the admission prices to these places, but its well worth it..

We spent a full afternoon exploring the Cathedral, I was especially moved by the new post war stain glass windows in the chapter house which shows the horror of the great world wars in such subtle yet once discovered and examined horrific detail.

Then it was time to hit the tube and take the underground walk up to exhibition walk and the Albert Hall.

This is not our first visit. In fact we were here last Christmas Eve for the Candlelight Carols on Christmas Eve and before that a performance of Tchaikovsky's 4th symphony coupled with Stravinsky's manic Violin concerto..

Dinner is prebooked inside the Albert Hall which in effect gives you early admission.. The Elgar restaurant is perhaps on the lower scale of the Leiths offerings inside the Hall, but the mussels are divine as is the wine..

Opeth take to the stage promptly at 7.30pm in a floor of dry ice and with a simple light rig and rear screen. They immediately launch into a uninterrupted first set of Blackwater Park which fill the entire Hall with its entire range and power. Lead singer Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt is sticking firmly to the rule that this classic Album will be played in full with no interruptions as he does not speak for the entire set. It almost works and thats not a criticism, its just the band and its crew cant quite pull off the seamless joins in the album and we end up with a slightly disjointed version of the album with a few gaps where equipment changes are necessary; but, and its a huge BUT; this a very small criticism.. It is seriously one of the most powerful performances I have seen by a band recently.

The second half is a bit of a test for us. One of the reasons we are here is because we came across this band via Steve Wilson, Porcupine Tree and the crossover influences and this caused me to discover the latest Album "Watershed". However it quickly became apparent that Opeth themselves wanted to celebrate a gig at the mighty Albert Hall with a full performane of Blackwater Park and older lesser played tracks. Blackwater Park was quickly purchased. A couple of listens to the latest album "Watershead" had already shown they had a grip for melody and rhythm that stretched from simple folk to hard rock that grabbed you by the neck and refused to let go, but there vast back catalogue would have been impossible to engage in before the date of the concert.

Opeth seemed to provide not only there own solution but did it in the most intelligent and structured way I have ever witnessed at a concert. Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt started at their first album in the second set, explained the history, the band set up and the song and progressed with each song until the current album.. It was a superb history lesson and a superb lesson in there music( as well as proving its possible to speak English as a second language and still be a comic genius).

It also proved what talented songwriting and musicianship has been captured in this band, never - even in moments of the darkest of dark metal - does the folk rhythm or understanding of flow and structure ever abandon this band, it is purely breathtaking; they are so tight together I am reminded of Rush but stripped of the huge backstage technical support. In this truly classical environment they sound stunning yet raw but so tuneful (even in songs I am hearing for the first time ever) its like the Albert Hall itself is singing along.

Please.. If you had pre conceptions about what this band was about , drop them and just listen.

A drive through the Lakes

2010-02-22T14:20:00.003Z

Just a quick blog update to a gallery that somehow got missed when I was working through some picture folders. Last June took us out to the Lake District and a visit to Hilltop Farm. Had a great Lunch in the NT pub that is next door to the Farm and then we returned via the ferry through Windermere (which is a bit of a tourist dump) at the moment. The rest of the pics can be reached as normal through the gallery button on the right.

A few updates

2010-02-10T10:14:00.005Z

Have not had much time to update things over the last month. It seems to have been all go. Christmas in Paris was superb and even the Eurostar ran on time and gave us a totally stress free journey there and back. The pictures are now up in the smugmug gallery through the link on the right. The snow came as something as a surprise last month and provided endless fun for Stitch and Mushu, though I think they wondered where all the grass had gone. Got some great trips lined up for the rest of the year with a couple of concerts at the Albert Hall and a few days in the South of Wales planned for the spring. It's going to be a busy year so bye for now.

Florida WDW - Oct 09 - Day 5 - MK

2009-11-06T11:56:00.011Z

It's Early Entry in the MK this morning so we're on the motor coach bright and early and without a breakfast. We have a cunning new plan to have a lovely relaxing breakfast on Main street. Its a bit of a gamble because we don't actually know if the words "relaxing" and "breakfast at Main Street" are compatible but the parks have been that quiet it should not be a problem. The Main Street Bakery soon fixes our hunger needs with a breakfast croissant for myself and a slab (slab being the operative word, there's enough cake in this portion to last a week) of hot cinnamon cake for Jackie. The cake in three words is de-lic-ious.

The Halloween decorations are looking very lovely in the bright sunshine. Now I have to admit this park does slightly disappoint me for various reasons. Main Street is looking bright and beautiful, having a slightly grander scale than its counterparts around the globe. However from then on it all seems to go a bit wrong. The 'Lands' seem to lack the careful transitions and theming that the other parks have. I have always put it down to it being the second park built; perhaps there was more of a rush and a sense of let's just make a vague copy of the original rather than the careful Imagineering that developed over time originally in Anaheim and then in the wonderful (spend whatever you want) planning stage at Paris.

I can't help looking for those mysterious hidden streets of New Orleans from Anaheim, or the secret paths and bazaars of Paris with its storytelling theming in the lands themselves. And I can never get over why Fantasy land looks like $10 was spent on the exterior building's theming and it looks like it's just dumped on a car park.

My biggest gripe has to be: What happened to the classic rides, has someone stolen the other 3/4 of Pirates of the Caribbean? It seems wrong to me that the most popular MK in the world only has a half baked version of one of Walt's favourite creations and a Haunted Mansion where a silly design issue in the planning stage means you don't enter through the front door.

Oh dear I sound a grump and a half. But I still walk around with a smile on my face despite all this. Especially after a quick FP ride on the River Cruise, a ride that sends you into familiar territory as you say the script in your head before the CM actually says it, but it's all part of the charm. Anyway the sun#s shining, all the CM are smiling and the good news is in a few years time it should all be fixed up, well Fantasyland should be anyway, Here's a rendering of Eric's Castle from the new Little Mermaid section.

Fantasyland does contain one of my all time favourite attractions though, Philharmagic. So far it exists in Hong Kong and Florida but it is such a classic piece it really should be in all the Parks. I personally think it's the best use of the 3D system combined with that wonderful theatre whose screen eventually envelopes you without you even realising it. Simple but with such beautiful musical pieces and well executed 3D effects it's a beautiful showcase of both the art of animation and the modern 3D technology.

Before lunch we have ridden the Jungle Cruise and traded my head for two of his, got wet on Splash mountain and dried off on Big Thunder Mountain. Flown across London with Peter Pan and fled from the Wicked Witch in my fave dark ghost ride "Snow White". We have then been moved by Philharmagic, missed the Tiki Show (grrrr, I love this) and started to think about lunch itself.

Lunch today is at The Wave in the Contemporary Hotel and consists of a sharing a huge Crab Cake (thanks to Dirk and Jim for the recommendation) lovely and crisp on the outside and full of 100% wonderful juicy meat inside, perfectly spiced and seasoned it's washed down nicely with a crisp Marlborough Sauvignon our server, Michelle, is rather excited about serving. My main is a simple Tuna salad which again is nice and spicy on crisp leaves. Jackie takes a nice fillet of Salmon with a salad. The Wave is a much better experience for lunch than previous offerings in the Contemporary and the decoration, theming etc and attention to detail from the napkins to the cutlery is classy, just a pity it has no windows at all. The dinner menu looks nice as well, definitely one to try in the future.

The afternoon is spent back in the MK which is still rather quite, I don't think I have ever walked onto Autopia before with such a small queue. We take a car each and Jackie is given a driving licence by the CM which she will no doubt mix up with her real one. Space Mountain is closed for a refurb which reminds me that I have not mentioned Haunted Mansion's refurb. We love it, the staircase is a superb addition as is the new attic section and everything just seems to look and sound one hell of a lot better.

Tommorow land's latest addition "Monsters Inc Laugh Floor" is a bit of a disappointment. Using the same technology as Stitch Live, Turtle Talk ec etc.. its all a bit flat; the biggest problem being it relies on what I would call minor characters from the film, and the premise that it's going to be funny... It wasn't. I suppose it still needs some fine tuning and really depends on the audience but it's a pity they couldn't have squeezed in the Monsters Inc Dark ride from California Adventure .

Eventually its time to head back after riding everything but it's a Small World, please don't make me get that tune stuck in my head. Tonight we have dinner arranged at Bistro de Paris, World Showcase, Epcot. Mmmm.

Florida WDW - Oct 09 - Day 4 - Eve Coral Reef

2009-11-04T08:26:00.009Z

As dusk falls we make our way over to the Coral Reef restaurant via Spaceship earth. It's actually a couple of years since we last rode this iconic ride which I am so happy to see is now straddling the entryway in full unmarred glory as intended. The Mickey Arm appendage has finally been removed which seemed to not only give the impression there was an unfinished bit of scaffolding permanently attached to the side of the geodesic sphere, but also seemed to reduce the scale from an impressive 18 storey to Mickey's golf ball.

We are also absolutely delighted to find the refurb has also given the timeline ride inside a whole new breath of fresh air. Dame Judi Dench is a perfect host for us English peasants. The new lighting, animatronics, and projections (the wall paintings in the cave in particular being a superb piece of visual story telling). Also the new music, general clean up, re costume and extra scenes (the Greek classroom fits in seamlessly) work beautifully. This has to be the most sympathetic to the original - breath of fresh air I have seen injected so far into a classic Disney piece of ride history; and they have done so without changing the fundamental nature of the ride; nor felt the need to introduce characters. Well done.

The artwork above is a rendering from the WDI archives showing the Michelangelo and Sistine Chapel section. I really hope most of these original imagineers are still around to ride this restored version.

We make our way over to Coral Reef for dinner around 7.15, we're a little early but looking at the amount of people hanging about in reception I doubt dinner at 7.20 is going to happen. In fact, they're running at least 20 mins behind which does seem to be a recurring theme in all restaurants for dinner despite the fact the parks seem pretty quiet. We take a seat under the trees outside as its a barmy night and wonder what's going on behind the portable hedge that has now appeared between us and The Living Seas and the passage way to Soarin. In fact we were only allowed in this section of the park because we had a reservation tonight. Technically Epcot is closed but they normally allow you to wander around and take photos. There are a lot of security personnel (who all seem to be at least 80) about as well tonight and it seems they are setting up portable bars and DJ booths, when I get past the hedge to take the picture above. It turns out Microsoft are taking over the park for the rest of the night for the Launch of Windows 7. Let's hope they don't spot that all of the tills and reservation systems in Epcot still seem to be running XP.

Eventually we are seated. The Coral Reef is a restaurant we have visited on every trip though oddly never at dinner always at lunch. I have never heard of Tile fish and Margie our server, describes it as a snapper like fish so that's ordered for myself, Jackie orders the Sea Trout. I have to say the menu does seem a little more varied than it was previously though sadly the Lobster starter seems to have disappeared. There seemed to be rather a lot of Southern influenced dishes in previous years which was fine the first time but Blackened catfish and grits did start becoming about the only white fish on the menu some years when we visited. Now there's a good choice of fish and meat dishes, though perhaps it's just more varied at dinner.

My only small criticism with the Coral reef is that I do find it an extremely noisy restaurant. Always a slight problem in some American restaurants anyway where for some reason a game of who can shout loudest seems to be a common table game; for some reason this venue does seem to be one of the worst. Perhaps those glass aquarium walls bounce the sound around even more.

When the food arrives there's a little confusion as the busboy describes my dish as snapper. Well I suppose Margie did say tile fish looked like snapper! Anyway Margie arrives sorts out the dishes and brings the wine, a nice bottle of Casa Grand Pinot Grigio. The Tile fish is served with a dark red wine and port sauce which works quite well, it does have just a hint of sweetness to it from the port but the meat's quite firm and strong and can stand up to it. Jackie's Sea trout is cooked more simply with a buttery sauce but is delicious all the same and nicely seasoned. We finish with the baked cheesecake and strawberries for myself and Jackie has the Creme Brulee.

Tomorrow its time to head to the MK for the first time this trip. We're looking forward to seeing the how the refurb work has gone in the haunted mansion.

Florida WDW - Oct 09 - Day 4

2009-11-02T10:22:00.008Z

We are up at six thirty in the morning and I'm soon joining the joggers around the lake at Saratoga Springs. Actually this is more in the literal than physical sense but I do walk quickly across the bridge and grab some cereals from the store for breakfast. Dinner finished so late last night we really can't face a cooked breakfast so Special K and Frosties suffice in the room. It's noticeably warmer today and looks set to stay this way for the rest of the trip.

Today's bus trip to Epcot sees a discussion on the merits of driving versus flying. A family from Tennessee explaining to a family from New York who would not dream of bringing the car that it's all relative and is an easy drive. I think I'm with the family from New York; the family from Tennessee has two young children and his mother in law which must have been a fun drive.

We are soon at Epcot and making our early entry to the park. After negotiating the graveyard (you got rid of the horrible Mickey arm recently, well done; can you bulldoze this next please) and passing under the iconic spaceship earth we turn right for the traditional early morning Soarin. Despite riding this on countless occasions both here and in Anaheim I think this is the first time we have actually been on the front row; I like the feeling of being higher and not having some annoying foot waver hanging in front of me. I still think the ride lacks repeatability and it does need a new film and a clean of the projector. This doesn't of course stop us grabbing fast passes on the way out, it's just one of those things you have to do.

Crossing all the way over to the opposite side we head straight onto Mission Space and Test Track grabbing extra fast passes for test track again as we exit. It has to be said though that today Epcot is nice and quiet. I manage to leave my Porcupine Tree baseball cap on Testrack after taking the care to sit on it so it didn't blow off. Luckily for me its been handed in next time I ride it so an international burnt head incident is avoided for the rest of the day.

Suddenly out of nowhere (and I seriously mean nowhere as its hard to find a grey cloud in the sky) a small shower starts so we take cover In Ellen's Universe of Energy. I think fellow Bloggers and TR writers Dirk and Jim sum it up best when they describe this as " a nice 45 minute nap, er respite from the heat, er awesome Disney attraction!". In our case it was a quick escape from the rain, though I do love the Ellen pre show sequence and it does make you all nostalgic. I remember first riding this in 1991 and being amazed. When we exit its blazing hot again.

The FP window for another Soarin has arrived and we get the top row again which is nice, though I'm sure the only smell they have turned on is orange, they must have run out of pine scent. Next up is the cutesy Nemo ride which is also empty today; last time we rode this it was brand new and we lined up for almost an hour. I like how each park has its own unique Nemo ride; from the restored Subs in California to our favourite the Crush Coaster at the Studios in Paris. Looking at the plans for the developing Little Mermaid ride I have a suspicion this Floridian Nemo Shell transport system is it's backbone. On exiting the ride we spend some time in the aquariums as it's feeding time for the Manatees; boy there really must be a lot of iceberg lettuce growing wild in the Everglades.

It's approaching time for the World Showcase to open up which means it's fast approaching early lunch time (we breakfasted lightly remember). Today's lunch will be a leisurely stroll around various continents sampling various delights, and no we're not going to the Princesses Buffet.

In no particular order (and bearing in mind some of these portions are only small) we have Lobster and Scallop Fishermans Pie (Ireland),Grilled Lamp Chop with Red Wine Sauce and Murray River Sea Salt (Australia), Escargots Persillade en Brioche (France), Parmentier de Boeuf Braise au Cabernet (France), New England Lobster Roll (USofA), Kefta (Morocco), Lamb Slider with Tomato Chutney (New Zealand), Seared Sea Scallop (New Zealand), Sukiyaki Beef Roll (Japan),Red Snapper Escabeche (Spain).

If we had to pick a couple of winners without doubt it would have to be Ireland's Fishermans Pie and from France the Parmentier de Boeuf Braise au Cabernet which is like a steak pudding :- beautiful rich beef rib meat and a strong wine gravy inside mashed potatoe. As is usual in Epcot both Wine and Beer were both varied and seemed better than ever, as was the entertainment. Whilst we wined and dined our way around we watched the Drummers in Japan, the child acrobats in China, and all the other varied street entertainers in Italy, France and the UK.

And then to top off the whole day we had an absolutely wonderful show from none other than Sister Sledge as they performed in the Americans Gardens Theatre for the "Eat to the Beat" concert series to a highly appreciative audience. They may be looking older but their band was tight and they sounded really good.

Also had plenty of time in between courses to ride the boat rides in Norway ( Maelstrom) and Mexico, and some of the pavilions in more detail. Always seems to be a tradition now to buy incense from Japan. Tonight we have a 7.20pm ADR for the Coral Reef but won't bother changing, we simply single rider Test Track and end up in the same car anyway.

Florida WDW - Oct 09 - Day 3 - Eve

2009-10-31T15:54:00.009Z

California Grill

Its been quite a long time since our last visit to the California Grill, we seem to have missed it out on recent trips so it's time to return.

We have rather a late ADR for nine in the evening so after getting showered and changed we set out for the MK bus depot; the "motor coach" driver taking a completely different route than last night's trip obviously. On arriving we change to the Monorail for one stop only and we are soon in the Contemporary. Checking in at the California Grill's reception we are told they are running 20mins behind and that someone will take us up in the private lift. About ten minutes later the lift finally appears to take us up and the CM explains it's rather a busy night.

As no tables are yet ready and the bar and lounge area is packed to capacity we are shown to some spare chairs which have been lined up along the length of one wall and given a bleeper, giving a signature dining room's lounge area the appearance of a rather depressing doctors waiting area. It's a pity that it's so cold outside because both roof top viewing areas are actually open, we take a quick look at the MK before diving back in for warmth.

Eventually though we are seated on the kitchen side with a nice window seat overlooking the lagoon and park. Things are improving but it's already past ten o'clock.

We start with a lovely flat bread Triple Cheese - Pecorino, Asiago, and Provolone with Sun-dried Tomato and Arugula Pesto. The dough recipe has altered somewhat since last time; the texture used to be almost like a cross between a thin Nan and a Pizza Dough but now it has been refined even more and almost has an element of filo to it. Its absolutely delicious. I can highly recommend the Sushi here but as I practically had raw fish for dinner last night I decide to skip the experience and order the Day boat Scallops with House-made Gnocchi, Sustainable Pears, Brown Butter and Bacon Emulsion which are cooked to perfection, admittedly practically raw inside but soft and heavenly with a wonderful caramelised exterior. The sauce has a strong veal base with a smokey kick from a pancetta reduction. It's powerful and does wonderful things in the mouth whilst never overpowering the scallops.

One thing I admire at The California Grill is the ability for the menu to be kept tight and compact. They do a few main dishes extremely well. However I am going to gently complain here; I was slightly disappointed to see that one of the meat choices tonight is an Ostrich dish. As far as I am concerned Ostrich has no place on a signature restaurants menu; it's a gimmick food along with Alligator and Croc that often gets placed on restaurants menus because they don't have the imagination to create a proper dish. Put it on as an extra or a special (if you must) but don't drop a classic dish in its place please. Rant over.

Jackie chooses a pasta dish tonight, a divine Wild Mushroom Ravioli. Intense is not a strong enough word for the explosion of flavour that occurs with each bite, the sauce is simply heaven. However the Pasta itself could have been a rolled, cut and crimped just a little thinner to balance the dish better.

Dessert for myself is Cheese as usual which is basically a slightly larger selection than last night's at Narcoosees. Jackie has Molten chocolate lava cake which has a slight crunch to the outside but a smoothly oozing interior, very nicely done, perfect. A Bottle of NZ Sauvignon and Sonoma Zinfandel take on the wine duties followed by coffees and espresso.

Looking back over my old review my opinion of the California Grill remains about the same. Great, often superb food in a rather chaotic environment with some elements(the unromantic, over bright, ceiling lighting for instance) that are just not quite good enough for a signature restaurant.

It's after midnight when we leave and though the MK is still open for an EE tonight till 1am, tomorrow morning is an Early Entry at Epcot; so we circle the Lagoon on the Monorail and return from MK Bus depot.

Florida WDW - Oct 09 - Day 3

2009-10-30T14:50:00.013Z

The Alarm rings out at 6.15am to welcome in the glorious new day. It's still dark outside, is this really morning? I flick on the T.V. to see what the weather has in store for us today. I have found another T.V. channel with a weather presenter who's hair does not get in the way of the map and whose teeth don't require the use of sunglasses in order to watch her. And besides, the new presenter I have found seems to present the weather two degrees higher than the other channel so that can only be a good thing -right! Now all I have to do next is work out how to stop the T.V. automatically starting up to perky Miss "Let me show you around Disney" every time I turn it on and it will be totally safe to use.

I go for the full bounty breakfast today, I can always use the biscuit as a lethal weapon or a hammer in case of emergencies. Jackie sticks with the strawberry free Mickey waffle and steals my sausage and potatoes (ouch).

It's early entry this morning in my favourite park AK. A bus eventually turns up after rather a good wait and we begin the drive there via Timbuktu. One advantage of getting the bus from the breakfast stop is it's the final or first bus stop depending on which way you look at it; in other words you get on and you're on your way.

It's another cold morning today and the conversation on the bus is pretty similar to yesterday. Today I know the entire contents of a total strangers suitcase and that she only brought slinky tops and shorts. Of course the driver has the air conditioning turned to just above freezing for reasons best known to himself or perhaps he just spotted all the slinky tops on board.

We love this park. I just love the lushness of it all, though the amount of shade today is hardly a plus point when the early morning temps are being a little stubborn. We are ushered in through the Early Entry turnstiles and grab fast passes for the safari. A couple of rides on Everest, which has no queue, should help the breakfast settle quite nicely so on we go. Then it's back to the safari after first grabbing more FPs for Everest. The other thing I actually like about this park, though I know some people don't, is that you have to do a lot of backtracking. When the park's this lovely I don't mind. It's when the theming is non existent and there's more concrete than greenery that I start to get fed up. By the time we reach the Safari the park has only just opened to the general public so the Safari FP saves us nothing. Animal activity is quite good though, probably because of the cool morning.

A warming coffee is called for next and we head slowly back around the lake,via Everest, to take in the first Nemo show of the day. With two enclosed full scale shows this park really does spoil you with its entertainment.

Nemo is as excellent as ever, it's always fun spotting cast you have seen previously and also seeing who has changed. The park actually seems pretty quiet today, the show only just fills by start time. The good news is by the end of the show the sun is fully up and its starting to heat up rapidly. My new weather girl has done herself proud.

We spend some time doing some of the nature trails and then sitting and enjoying a cold drink as it has now actually got pretty hot, rather quickly. Lunch today is an ADR at Yak and Yeti at one thirty so there's time to squeeze in a ride on Dinosaur before heading over there. I'm always a little bemused by this ride and how it constantly seems to churn out screaming children at the end. I like it, though it's not the most comfortable of experiences.

Yak and Yeti is reasonable fare. I actually end up ordering Ribs because I think it's probably going to be the only chance I will get of having them this holiday. They are excellent but I would probably order something from the wok next time. Jackie's Tempura Shrimp and Noodles looks better. We are seated upstairs in the front room which looks a superior option to downstairs which looks a little more noisy and crowded.

After lunch we go to watch the Lion King show which is excellent as usual and in my opinion the two shows in this park are worth the entrance price alone. We then take a relaxing walk through the trails and go to see the Tigers who are quite keen on Jackie's T Shirt and hat it would appear.

After a trip there and back again on the train (just for a sit down) we use a fast pass we picked up earlier for the river rapids and as is our usual luck on these rides get absolutely soaked. We have a late ADR for California Grill tonight so we decide to head back and spend some time by the pool before getting ready.

Florida WDW - Oct 09 - Day 2 - Eve

2009-10-30T09:24:00.009Z

Narcoossee's

Later that same evening, suitably changed and refreshed we are back at the bus stop waiting to head out for a seven thirty ADR at Narcoossees. I love the journey to Narcoossees from a resort, you have a choice of transportation and we are in good fortune; one of the small steamers is in the dock when we arrive at the MK bus depot after what seems like another circular tour of the entire property. It's a lovely way to cross from the MK concourse area over the Seven Seas Lagoon direct to the the Grand Floridian Dock; which just happens to be next door to Narcoossees restaurant.

The restaurant is buzzing and they are running about 15 minutes behind (as usual). Its a MNSSHP night in the MK tonight and sat at a table for six are the best dressed family we have ever seen. It's the entire Adams family with full make up, props and crisp looking costumes. In fact the costumes are so good they don't look that out of place in the restaurant surrounded by the servers, fine wine and food and could be mistaken for a family of adults out in all there finery until you realise somethings not quite right; doesn't that man at the end look dead. A nice touch is that Uncle Fester has a bulb to place in his mouth and light. I know I should have taken pictures but I didn't , so slapped wrists for not papping them mid dinner.

We are seated twice, the first time on an empty table of six with a high chair which comes as a surprise to us and the maitre 'd who quickly runs over and moves us to another table next to the window looking out over the MK and the Lagoon.
Our server is Steve who is all the way from Orlando and seems a little flustered, he's been having a problem with the Adams family bill. The menu looks great as usual, fish, fish and more fish. Jackie orders the Yellowtail Snapper which Steve is keen to point out is a "whole fish", he says this in a way that suggests some people may not realise "fillets of fish actually come from fish you know" which sounds quite unintentionally funny, next he'll be telling us fish may have bones in it.. I go for the Togarashi Spiced Ahi Tuna, rare. Wine is a bottle of New Zealand Marlborough Sauvignon, crisp and perfect.

I think the reason for Steve wanting to talk about the whole fish becomes readily apparent upon its arrival. Either a small whale or an extra from the Nemo show seems to have been substituted for the snapper and artistically placed on the plate. It's absolutely divine, there's an Asian fusion to the sauce and just enough heat in the beautiful crisp batter to give it a light kick. The meat is perfect and translucent.
My tuna is cooked to perfection (that's just the outside then - Jackie) and again shows the same Asian fusion themes going on throughout, my only small criticism would be it is described as having a wasabi accompaniment, but if that green line is the wasabi it has little heat or taste. The tuna is superb though, strong and tender and balanced perfectly by the spices on the outside.

For dessert a mix of Seasonal Fruit Desserts and Chocolate Dessert with espresso for me and Russian earl grey for Jackie is taken followed by the Artisan Cheeses with a bottle of Red Zinfandel.

The night is further enhanced by all the usual extras at Narcoosee's. We went out before the main course to watch the good old Electric Water Pageant do it's stuff, then after coffees spent time on the deck watching the Halloween music and fireworks; they dim all the lights in the restaurant and pipe in the music. These are probably the best fireworks the MK puts on and I always remember last time we saw them inside the park how amazing it was to have them explode all around you rather than just beyond the castle, from this viewpoint you really do get a great idea of how vast an area is being used to display these fireworks.

We return pretty late by taking the Monorail from the Grand Floridian to the MK Bus Depot and switching to our resort Bus; so far the Buses have been pretty good.. Early start tomorrow it's early entry at the Animal Kingdom.

Florida WDW - Oct 09 - Day 2

2009-10-29T12:19:00.005Z

We are up early and ready for the first day, the weather whilst clear is not exactly promising much heat today due to a prevailing wind from the North drawing cold air down, this should improve in the next day or two according to the weather girl who clearly isn't doing her bit for the ozone layer as her mountain of blond hair never moves a millimetre no matter how much she shakes or turns her head. We are having breakfast in the Artist Palette just after 7.00am. I am making an assumption here but I am guessing they expect most guests actually use the kitchens in the rooms for breakfast at the Saratoga Springs.(do these people realise they're on holiday?); not only is the breakfast room pretty deserted compared to other resorts but the choice is not quite as good as say Port Orleans or even the All Star Resorts. In the end I settle for a cheese omlette and Jackie takes the large Mickey Waffle but it comes sadly for her without the strawberry sauce it is usually served with elsewhere.

It's possible to pick a bus up a short walk from the breakfast room so soon we are heading towards the Studios in time for opening. Most of the conversation on the bus turns to the weather or the snow and storms people have left behind from the more northern states. I'm always a junkie on the bus for observing all the different sociology and human nature that goes on around you; it helps pass the time especially as the bus drivers seem to have an amazing ability to find the longest and never the same way twice route to the parks.

We are held up as we go in for the opening ceremony on Hollywood Blvd but soon we are heading straight down Sunset Blvd for Rock n Roller Coaster and FP followed by ToT and more FPs. Its actually rather quiet today so it doesn't take us to long to amass a few FPs as we choose not to use them on ToT as the Q's are not having any effect just yet and the FP windows are staying nice and low. Slowly it starts to warm up a little as the sun finally climbs up and its time to start glancing at the schedule. Just before we left and we planned our days I was disappointed to notice what had happened to Fantasmic; it was actually only showing on two days a week for the time we were here according to Disney's Calender. Looking at the schedule today it looks like common sense has prevailed; not only is it on every day of the week but its showing twice a night on most nights. Next we visit some old favourites including the Little Mermaid which we decide to see again later as we end up too near the front which never seems to be a great place to see it from and then the Great Movie Ride for a little nostalgia.

Lunch is a simple affair today at the ABC Commissary but its tasty enough washed down with some Sutters Zinfandel. I think we mixed between the Fish and Chips/Fries and the Chicken Curry with rice, followed by Strawberry Parfait and Chocolate Mousse. For Counter food it's not too bad and does what it says on the tin. The wine obviously makes it taste just that little bit better . Then it's time to use up more FPs on ToT and RnR again in between seeing Beauty and the Beast. You can probably see a theme here, eat a meal then ride coasters. I can only assume we are either mad or have very solid digestive systems. We also start to watch the High School Musical show but its now HSM3 (Was there a 2 or did I blink?) and as Jackie knows none of these songs and can therefore no longer be an active part of the show whether they want her or not we give it a miss

In the Afternoon we waste a little time on the 'backyard' tour, which is getting a little long in the tooth now apart from it's one climax but at least you get to sit down for a while, then we head over for the last show of Indiana Jones passing some rather tiny Jedi recruits giving Vadar a hard time on the way. Indy never changes but it's always good fun, though I am starting now to slightly regret the decision to cut weight and baggage by only deciding to bring one camera lens and body on this trip. I decided on the 10-20mm to give me some different/unusual options but its at times like this a fast 300mm would be more comfortable.

Then it's time to head back to the room have a quick rest, get changed and head back out to Narcoossees for dinner tonight at seven thirty. Its a Halloween night at MK tonight I notice but hopefully we should not look too much like the walking dead.

Florida WDW - Oct 09 - Day 1

2009-10-28T07:52:00.008Z

We arrived at Manchester in good time and checked in among the shortest queue I have ever seen for a transatlantic flight, in fact there was no body there. Its our first time with Thomas Cook Airlines and to be honest there is some apprehension as they seem to have a reputation for poor service (pretty much like any other airline then). So far so good though; we risked not paying extra for sitting together but are placed together anyway (though oddly people who payed to sit together are not) and they didn't try to charge extra for the seat belt :) using the bathroom or any other ludicrous optional extra. Hand luggage was not weighed which is probably a relief as it contains more snacks, sandwiches, pies and pastries than a small corner shop. You could pay extra for two bowls of gruel but to be honest I have yet to find any airline food in the world that is worth paying for no matter what class you fly; in fact my award for best airline food still goes to Air China's local domestic flights where they hurled delicious fried chicken noodles at you (well they said it was chicken).

The flight soon takes on an hours delay before we eventually board. I remember the days when 767s were pretty new planes, but this one looks pretty worn out now. I personally don't think in this seating configuration (100% charter which must have come as a shock to those who paid extra for premium seating) it's at all suitable for a 9 hour flight but fortunately we have a centre row to ourselves because when we eventually leave and the seat belt light goes off the entire cabin spends 20 minutes re seating itself so every ones sat with family again.I didn't bother with films as you have to pay extra for the headphones which plug into the broken sockets on the chairs, anyway Jackie finds the ipod's headphones work fine once you find an arm that's working; now all you have to do is work out which ceiling monitor you want to watch it on, the one that's tinted red or blue or green, perhaps they could take all the parts from the monitors to get one that works. I hope the equipment in the captains front office is working a bit better.

Nine hours later we arrive at Sanford (which is another first as we normally always fly to MCO). Its a little basic but who cares, we're through quickly and getting our car, something Alamo don't seem to actually be capable of. Remind me not to use them if we ever come to Sanford again; if they're this short of cars at this time of year how on earth do they manage during high season. Eventually a car arrives and we are on are way down the Greenway to Saratoga Springs and into the welcoming arms of Disney. We are checked in quickly and given a 1 bedroom villa in The Paddock building. It's absolutely lovely consisting of a hallway which leads into a full size kitchen (which will never be used) and sitting room. From here you can exit to the balcony or enter the bedroom which manages to contain a super king size bed yet still have plenty of space leftover. Another door leads off to the Spa Jacuzzi bathroom which also allows access to a walk in wardrobe containing a wall safe. Another door from the bathroom takes you through to the second bathroom and its walk in shower. This bathroom also connects back to the sitting room. Between the hallway and the sitting room is a door containing your own washing machine and dryer. A nice touch is that the main Spa bathroom can also be opened up to the main bedroom via some shutters.

We quickly change then run over to the bus stop(30 yards away) and get on the first bus out to EPCOT. It's just starting to go dark now and the plan is to head straight over to the Food and Wine festival and have a few snacks and drinks for supper. We can't resist a quick Mission Space (Intense thanks)though on the way as there is no queue whatsoever so after pulling some Gs we make our way clockwise around the World Showcase. I think it probably felt like 3am for us so I can't fully remember what we ate though I remember a Chicken and Cumin dish washed down with a Tsing Tao from Shanghai, some lovely Barramundi and Lamb Chops from Australia's Counter, I also remember a lovely Scallop dish and a gorgeous Ghoulash from Vienna. We then ended the night watching Illuminations and I think actually enjoying it more than ever before. Then it was back home to what felt like the most comfortable bed ever..

Mallorca - Sep 2009

2009-09-30T17:30:00.004Z

Lovely villa in the most stunning location; totally private and isolated but with a vineyard at the end of the lane - almost Eden. Driving was fine and the food was glorious, the only real disappointment was the unavoidable fact that some of the larger towns and ports have become concrete horrors.Despite the claims of how unspoilt the North of the Island is compared to the South, Port de Pollenca is only one step removed now from Blackpool. Soller however is nice and the drive through the Mountains quite an experience.

Highlights .. The Lobster, the baby Piglet and Lamb cooked in the villas outdoor wood oven ... Having nothing but the sound of sheep with there bells ringing in the black of night whilst swimming in the pool... The glorious Syrah from the Vineyard down the Lane... The Grand hotel in Soller for the last day where lunch was an absolute delight... Clivia in Pollenca for a superb meal on our first night...

Pics now up in the gallery.

Update Aug 2009

2009-08-15T15:55:00.006Z

A quick update; things have been busy. I actually started on a TR for China which is progressing quite well. The pic is from Bolton Abbey (about 30mins or so home) and you can see more in the Gallery. In fact we our fair share of heritage every weekend after spotting a quidco deal that practically paid us to join the National Trust. The villa will soon be ready for us in Majorca (can't wait) and have just booked Saratoga Springs and the Royal Pacific for October. Just need to put the final touches to lots of ADRs.

New York, Los Angeles, Burnley

2009-06-09T08:49:00.006Z

Eddie Izzard arrived at the teeny weeny Burnley Mechanics after his dates in the States to try out some new material before his UK Arena tour this autumn. Tkts were like diamonds but we managed to get enough to also take along our niece and nephew as a surprise present. Greeted like a rock star he started his performance late at night at 10.30pm leading most to believe he would just perform an hours worth of new material to test the water on a new crowd. However he went on to perform a full brilliant show.
A football team newly promoted to the Premiership: Eddie Izzard at the Mechanics and yesterday Marillion announce the Mechanics as a venue for this Autumns unplugged tour. We are half expecting Madonna to announce dates here next week!

Northumberland May 2009

2009-06-09T08:30:00.005Z

First you will notice there is still no TR for China. So what I have done in the meantime is updated all the photos in the album with more detailed descriptions and finally put the last of the photos in there. When Virgin Holidays satisfy us that they are capable of running a tour and answer some rather simple questions I will get around to putting up a TR.
May saw us in Northumberland and what a lovely area of the country it is. The weather was beautiful and the scenery fantastic. I should have done more research into the food because apart from a lovely lunch in "The Sanctuary" at Alnwick Castle food was a little dissapointing.

China 2009

2009-04-11T12:35:00.007Z

Just a very quick post on our return from China to point you to the gallery which now has the first few days of images uploaded. All in all there were more than 1600 photographs to sort through and process from their RAW format so I'll tackle them a day at a time in an attempt to hold off temporary insanity. How was the trip your asking. Well it was certainly an experience with many high points and quite a few frustrations which are to be expected in this country. More on those later but for now here's that link.

Click here for China Trip photos

Photographs

2009-03-18T17:32:00.009Z

The sun came out today so it was a great opportunity to get some photos. The subjects are the local town hall and the view from the new deck in the garden. Both should expand with a simple click on the pictures.

Now its time to get ready to face the flight to Shanghai. The plan is (take a deep breath) to start in London, watch Wicked again as a treat, fly to Shanghai for a couple of days, get the train to Suzhou, head north to Beijing for a few days then go to X'ian followed by Chengdu and Sichuan then move to Guilin and finally end up in Hong Kong for a more relaxing break. I'm sure I have missed something out..

Crash Test Bunnies

2009-03-07T17:22:00.005Z

Probably not looking very "crash test" in this picture but their usual pursuit is to spring round and bounce like a new born lamb. These siblings are now 12 weeks old and being spoiled rotten. So introducing Stitch (grey) and Mushu (Moosh for short) to the blog.

Garden Visitors

2009-01-29T14:44:00.003Z

There was an article on the radio a few days ago about the sudden drop in numbers of Longtailed Tits from British gardens this winter due to the cold spell we have had. Just snapped this earlier this afternoon as a family of six tucked into some fat high peanuts. What a noisy bunch they were, perhaps they were screaming for a refill.

Newchurch in Pendle

2009-01-28T15:48:00.005Z

Had a walk around Pendle and Newchurch looking at property for a friend but was both shocked and dismayed to find the Lamb Inn is no longer a pub but has been tranfsormed into a B&B (yes its been a while since we have been here). How on earth can you have a village without a village pub. Still it was one of the first sunny days this year so I spent the time well and managed to get some pictures of the village church. I wonder if thats going to shut soon as well.

Christmas In London

2009-01-06T21:08:00.007Z

We left for London from the station on Christmas Eve and after changing at Leeds found ourselves in the City just over two hours later. The trip was made all the better by some lovely Christmas sandwiches and a bottle of Bucks Fizz and Wine we had taken to start celebrating with. We quickly checked in to the hotel in Covent Garden, changed for dinner and then set off for the Albert Hall.
Here we had a Christmas Eve dinner in the newer restaurant "Coda" which I don't think was here last time we came for the Proms, then we ate in the "Elgar". The food was quite delicious and before we knew it, it was time to go into the Hall for the Christmas Carol evening. This was great fun and an absolutely beautiful way to start off the Christmas celebrations.

The following day was Christmas Day of course so we set off for Trafalgar square and joined in with a London Walks group based around the life and times of Samuel Pepys. The guide was both entertaining and informative and we fully enjoyed this interesting couple of hours (to be cont)

Click here for Christmas in London pictures

Marillion Manchester Academy Nov 2008

2008-11-28T13:36:00.008Z

Its been a long time since I have seen a band greeted so warmly by the crowd on there arrival. For a moment the whole band seemed quite stunned as they walked onto the stage into the the wall of sound that greeted them. (to be cont)

Click here for more Marillion photos

London and Porcupine Tree

2008-10-29T08:11:00.011Z

Quick trip down to London in 2 hours on the East Coast Main Line. Great food and wine on the way down then a little sight seeing before heading over in the evening to the Indigo club at the 02 Millenium dome. It was fun approaching the dome using the Thames clippers. The main reason for the trip was of for Porcupine Trees only UK concert of the year and what an exceptional gig it was.The following day lunch in the nice restaurant in the Sainsbury wing of the National Gallery (great food but really lousy service. A smooth trip back again in 2 hours flat. Virgin Trains take note, your West Coast route is becoming a farce.

Click here for more London photos

Click here for more Porcupine Tree photos

Stonehenge

2008-10-27T14:48:00.007Z

Stopped off at the National Heritage site/car park that is Stonehenge.. Actually plans are afoot to move the main roads underground and create vast new visitors centers a respectable distance away that may give the site the respect it deserves. Lovely weather again but a long drive back. Catering consisted of a cornish pasty in the car park.

Click here for more Stonehenge Photos

Cot Valley Cornwall

2008-10-16T16:38:00.007Z

Superb weather for a full week in Cornwall, who would have thought... Fantastic food in restaurants where the fish is so fresh it was dropped off the same morning from the local harbour... An absolute dream of a Holiday...

The Cot valley is about as far west as you can go, about 5 miles from Lands End near the town of St Just its a lovely little isolated place with three or 4 houses down a lane. One of these has a bungalow which can be rented out and its here we took ourselves for a week in September. As you can probably guess from the first paragraph we enjoyed it rather a lot.

Here's a link to many more pictures which Jackie has labelled up.

More Cornwall Photos

Disneyland Paris July 08

2008-09-28T11:22:00.008Z

Just a very quick post as I play catch up on the blog . Earlier in July we were back in DLP seeing the park (unusually for us) in the heat of summer. The park was in full bloom and looking fantastic.

All the usual favourites were visited. One new highlight had to be the Early Entry 2 hours before the normal gate time for pass holders and being there just in time for the first trial run of implementing fast pass for the Crush Coaster. With regard to the Early Entry system though its just a pity this can't be extended to mix and match over the two parks or different areas on different days.

Food was excellent as usual with and ended in an evening in the California Grill where the menu has been tweaked and refined a little more since our last visit at Christmas.. The Lobster was divine..

I'll leave you with a link to the full gallery.

More DLP Photos

Purton Green (cont)

2008-06-27T11:48:00.006Z

The following day had us waking rather late, after a nice breakfast we set off for the village of Clare, where we climbed to the top of the Castle, checked out the village Church and had a lovely tea and scone break.

Purton Green cont.

2008-06-17T06:35:00.008Z

After a 4 hour plus drive we found ourselves driving down the small lane, crossing the ford and finally parking up. It was a hot evening and we can only hope this weather will continue for the rest of the week. The two wheelbarrows are waiting at the entrance to the path but from here there is no sign at all of the Hall, just fields of crops and areas of woodland. The wheelbarrows are loaded (clanging with rather a lot of wine) and with Minky perched in his cage on top we must look like the most eccentric of travellers. The instructions say to simply follow the path keeping the hedge to the right for about 400yards and that you will not see Purton Green until you are almost upon it as its surrounded by woodland. Its a hot sticky walk with Minky singing away in tune with the squeaky wheelbarrow I seem to have. Eventually we turn a final corner and there is our home for the rest of the week, nestling in the shadow of a walnut tree.

Once installed we explore every inch. The Great Hall is lovely and cool whilst the rest of the building is cosy and more traditional. Wine is quickly opened, the deck chairs placed under the walnut tree and all our cares quickly evaporate. That evening we cook fantastic fillet steaks and eat at the long table in the Great Hall watching the sun go down beyond the large oak door and listening to Porcupine tree on the small hi fi we brought along (Music being the one thing we could not go without for the week)

Click on pictures for the full size versions.

Purton Green

2008-06-14T15:05:00.007Z

Just back from a wonderful break at Purton Green, an isolated Landmark Trust property in the heart of the Suffolk countryside. One or two pictures for now but lots more details to come soon about the trip and the property itself. Just a few details here from the Landmark Trust's own description:

Purton Green is one of the many lost villages of Suffolk, where generations spent their lives, but which are now just patches of lime and fragments in the plough. It lies on an old road running south from Bury St Edmunds, today hardly a path. All that remains is this house. Inside its late medieval walls survives a hall of 1250 – a great rarity.

Aisled on both sides, with scissor-braced trusses and a highly ornamental arcade at the low end, it must once have been an important place.When we bought it in 1969 it was little more than a ruin. As with almost all medieval houses, a floor and central chimney stack had later been inserted, but these additions were so derelict that we felt justified in removing them, to return the hall to its original open state. Part of the house – the high end – was rebuilt in about 1600 and this part we have turned into living quarters. These can only be reached through the hall, which you must cross and recross if you stay here, as your predecessors have done for 700 years.

The house now stands surrounded by fields, with unchanging Suffolk countryside in all directions. After crossing a ford, you leave your car 400 yards from the house; but we provide a wheelbarrow for the rest of the journey. Purton Green Continued.

Ightenhill to the "Bay Horse Inn" Fence

2008-05-25T13:13:00.015Z

Looking from our garden towards Pendle

Whilst the weather still attempts to hold onto Spring and remains dry we decided it was time to pull out the Ordnance Survey Explorer Map for our area, see if we could walk across the footpath that cuts across the back field and find our way successfully across country to the "Bay Horse Inn" Fence. We set off mid afternoon and stepped into the field immediately sinking up to our ankles in a bog. Not a great start but we headed on, crossing to the footbridge across the Calder and up a shingle lane that passes by Pendle Hall farmhouse.

Looking back at our route from Pendle Hall after crossing the River Calder

From here we had to locate a path heading east and finding this we headed off in the direction of a copse of woodland sticking out of a valley which was clearly marked on the map. Apart from a few cows who moved rather reluctantly out of our way as they had done the sensible thing and lay down against the gale force winds that have struck up this weekend not a single person was seen all day.

The hidden valley at Moor Isles Clough

Arriving at a stile above this valley or mini gorge and checking the map that we were still on the right path we discovered the place is called Moor Isles Clough. The path leads down into a lovely leafy steeply sided gorge with a small brook gurgling through at the bottom. A fantastic location right on our doorstep that we did not even know existed. Absolutely full of the sounds of birds and wildlife and with wild garlic growing profusely on the banks of the stream.

Wild Garlic in Moor Isles Clough

Crossing the stream by the footbridge ad climbing to the other side we continued towards the village of Fence. Soon the white building of the Bay Horse could be seen and we arrived slightly muddy but rather hungry. This used to be a favourite restaurant of ours when the previous owners Carl and Marie ran the place. Food especially the fish was always excellent even if the service was best described as erratic. Carl and Marie have finally moved on and the new owners have elected to run the place with an almost identical menu. As Carl himself did much of the cooking we found it odd on our first visit after the change of hands to find the menu unchanged. I would have liked the new owners to try to introduce something fresh and new to make their own stamp on the restaurant, so we left disappointed last time. Perhaps it was all the fresh air from the walk and the great wine but this time everything was rather good.

Dinner at the Bay Horse Fence

Deck Summer Visitor

2008-05-12T17:15:00.006Z

Wow could this be an indication that we are going to get a summer at long last. I think I'll wait and see but the swallows are in the back field and the frogs have returned to the pond. Thinking back to last year I'm sure we got a few days sun like this and then that was it for the year.
To celebrate this change in the weather I dusted off the MTB from the garage which has been in winter hibernation and took it on a 15 mile round trip on the canal, not a great idea as this morning I can hardly walk let alone sit down. Still my fitness regime has started, this time next year you wont recognise me :)

Bride Stones Walk

2008-05-10T08:38:00.004Z

Finally a little sun and dry weather has arrived, so on a lovely evening and taking directions from "The Walking Englishman" website we set out to the edge of town where Lancashire becomes Yorkshire and the Landscape becomes moors and craggs.

I have never seen these stones before or heard of them and our route to them follows the old pack horse roads and bridleways that criss cross this area.

They overlook the Calder Valley and stare down at Todmorden from high up on the Bride Stones Moor. The Bride Stones are a super example of Yorkshire bouldering crags formed when glaciated within the last 15000 years. These edge tors are periglacial in origin and probably the result of freeze thaw and sand blasting. They post-date the end of the Devensian Ice age and they are spread all over the hillside. Many of the interesting ones are individually named. They include the Indian's Head, the Villain, the Cheeseblock and the Bride Stone itself which is a large rounded rock in the shape of an egg perched on a slender pillar. It is an amazing sight as it stands precariously on its small base. Myth has it that the stone is a rich source of fertility for newly married couples.

I have included a link below which will take you to an album showing the bridal paths, old abandoned dwellings that are scattered around the moor and some of the local population of spring lambs that live up here. Also if you click on the title of this post it should take you to the Walking English man's site for full maps and other walks in the area.

Click for more Pics

Guernsey - 11th April

2008-04-18T06:51:00.013Z

The gods finally shone on us for a change and our flights left on time for the first time in a few years. A 50mins flight with Flybe on a turboprop soon had us landing at the airport in the middle of this channel island. The weather check this morning had promised little, the BBCs web site intent on showing a solid rain symbol sat over the island for the whole weekend, however as we descended the co pilot announced the weather had cleared and it was clear. Getting our first view of the island as you fly around it to approach the runway we were both surprised to see how populated it is, for some reason I expected the town and then a lot of green, but the whole island does see quite covered in houses. Perhaps its the scale that gives this illusion or maybe I was confusing it with Jersey and watching episodes of Bergerac as a child.

A taxi is waiting for us at the terminal and we are soon checking into La Fregate hotel in St Peters Port. The room is a beautiful suite with a stunning panoramic view of the town and port with Castle Cornet sitting prominently in the distance; as promised the weather has indeed cleared.

After unpacking quickly we head straight out for a walk around the town and out towards the Castle. The Castle is like an illusion, it doesn't look that far from the room but it never seems to get any nearer as we walk towards it. Eventually we arrive at its walls and check the opening times for tomorrow, there are guided tours at 10.30am so we decide we will spend the morning doing that if the weather holds out. The town itself is lovely and clean and you could spend a good week here and never run short of somewhere good to eat and I mean somewhere really good and not the usual touristy rubbish or pub reheat pet food that seems to swamping the nation at the moment.

(to be cont)

La Fregate

Malham

2008-04-03T07:14:00.013Z

With Easter arriving ridiculously early this year we decided to head out down the road and visit Malham. Its only 40minutes away yet for some reason we have both never returned there since the obligatory school trips. We decided to take a good lunch first in the Buck Inn which consisted of Cod, Chips and Peas for Jackie and the house special of Homemade Malham and Masham Pie - (Chunks of beef cooked to perfection with our Old Peculiar Ale accompanied with baby onions, mushrooms and topped with Short Crust Pastry). The fish and its beer batter was excellent and despite the fact you could probably use the Pastry as extra armour plating on a Tank the pie was very tasty and tender as well; all this was washed down with a nice bottle of Shiraz in front of a roaring fire.

to be cont.

We walk out from the restaurant down the valley,aling the stream and watch the rock climbers attempting to climb the cove.
Standing some 80 metres high and 300 metres wide and north of the mid craven fault, Malham Cove is a curved crag of carboniferous limestone formed after the last ice age. Meltwater, particularly from Malham Tarn, cut back the cove as it fell over the edge as a waterfall. This erosion took place more actively at the lip of the fall rather than at the sides, hence the curved shape.

We then take the stone stairs to the left of the cove and climb to the top to the limestone pavement.
The magnificent limestone pavement on the surface of the Cove is deeply fissured and fretted by a pattern of channels. Chemical weathering due to the slightly acidic rain dissolves and widens the many joints of the limestone , carving the patterns that can be seen today. The resulting limestone pavement is known as 'clints' or 'grykes', where the naked limestone lumps are the clints and the fissures in between are the grykes. The grykes are home to many rare (shade-loving) plants - harts-tongue fern, wood-sorrel, wood-garlic, geranium, anemone, rue, and enchanter's nightshade.

From here we walk on to Gordale Scar where the weather decides to play strange tricks, giving us a 2minute blizzard as we sit at the base of the waterfall.
The sides of this gorge overhang to a considerable extent, suggesting that there was once a great cavern, the roof of which has subsequently collapsed.

On close observation remnants of this roof can been found to the right above the first waterfall. The left side of the cavern is noticable for its close and intimate vertical jointing dividing the limestone into thin plates sometimes less than an inch in thickness.

Disneyland Paris 26th Dec Day 3

2008-01-15T13:01:00.000Z

A quick update for the blog itself. I have managed from this entry forward to fix the picture links so they will now expand properly on clicking. And so on with Day 3...

I think we deserve a gentle and relaxing lie in. Don't let those words cross my lips again. Even at the late hour of 8.30am the restaurant for le petit déjeuner has either been stormed by a division of the riot police or its full of children; looking at the carnage around its hard to decide which but there are a lot of small princesses running around. Wow! Belle really should have tried wearing salopettes under her dress before she set off looking for the old guy. We eat quickly and beat a retreat leaving the destruction behind. A bus arrives promptly and we head off into the fog.

Heading straight for the transformed Studios, which have opened a little earlier than the gate time, we are quickly through Studio 1 and make a right turn towards Crush. It's already beginning to generate a queue despite the fact it has not yet opened and this tends to be the story all day. It's not what you would call the highest capacity ride in the world, nor the fastest loader which makes Fast Pass a bit of a non starter for it, so arrive early and don't leave the queue no matter what story the CM comes up with to try to move you to another attraction. Once inside and at the front of the boarding area the house lights come on and the attraction is declared to be broken down. I eventually start to develop a theory about this; once a queue reaches back to the park entrance, pretend Crush has broken down for 5mins and disperse the queue. Finally we ride again and once again it's as crazy as ever and we still don't know which way is up. We love it.

After riding and re riding ToT on a FP we grabbed earlier and then taking the customary cup of hot water and a tea bag in the studio 1 cafe its time to head back over to the MK. The parks seem busier today than the previous days but all the gates are open and I have yet to see any major queues at the entrance barriers; apart from the central gates which people seem to flock to like sheep, ignoring the fact those on the left and right are often empty. We have a lunch booking today at the newly re opened Agrabah restaurant. We are about to take the customary short cut through the enclosed arcades at the back of Main street when a small parade takes place however so we stop to watch watch as the character express glides past.

Lunch in the Agrabah after another ride on BTM and POC is a nice enough affair, a few teething problems seem to be affecting the efficiency of its operation but its a hidden delight and the theming is exquisite, the food is fine as well and I'll cover the restaurant in more detail soon. After lunch we decide to wander over to the far reaches of Frontierland passing the Cowboy Cookout Barbecue, a building I have somehow missed previously. In fact this whole area is one I'm not over familiar with. It seems quite an empty area, indeed the area is earmarked for a future as yet undisclosed attraction. The biggest name on everyones' lips is Splash Mountain which would fit in thematically. Personally if that rumour is true it will have to be "You are guaranteed to keep dry" water ride to have any hope of attracting guests in the freezing winter months. Hopefully the park will get something totally new along the lines of the new developments currently earmarked for CA and WDW.

As it is this area is rather open and in some ways quite attractive, the Frontierland Depot Station looks very effective in its detached lonesome position, especially surrounded by the bleak yet bright colours of the fallen leaves. There's also a small western themed corral which has currently been turned into Sherrif Woody's round up Village and a place for Father Christmas to meet and greet. Just hidden down a small path as you approach this area of the park, and I note unmentioned on the guide map, is a small landing stage where the Keel boats dock. Even today at a relatively busy time there is hardly a queue at all. So we board for a sedate trip around the lake weaving around the Mark Twain and Big Thunder Mountain Island. The Keel boats only run on days when CMs with boat piloting licences are working so its hard to guarantee when they are operating; if they are though take a trip if only for a short break from the crowds.

Whilst in this area on arrival back from our sojourn around the lake its good timing to take in the show that Frontierland has to offer. Yes it's "Mickey's Winter Wonderland" in The Chaparral Theater, described in the guide as "A musical comedy full of wit and magic". I'm already beginning to question the sanity of the Imagineer who thought it would be a good idea to have a ice skating show set in the icy wonderland actually in an outdoor theatre in the icy french winter; but its all good fun even if we appear to have frozen to the bench by the end of the show and can no longer feel our toes. We head across to the Cookout Barn for hot drinks to warm up, actually this looks like quite a nice cheap and cheerful place to eat serving rather good looking (and smelling) ribs rather than the obligatory burgers most of these self service places seem to specialize in and its quite well themed inside as well as out.

After riding more of our favourites on the Fast Passes we had collected earlier and a little more shopping to pass the time we take in the parade and have a dinner appointment at one of our old favourites upstairs on Main Street "Walts". It's the final sitting and we have the place almost to ourselves and once again enjoy a long slow dinner looking down from the window onto the crowds on Main Street getting snowed on at regular intervals. Then its time to head back and set the alarm clock a little earlier to avoid the scrum tomorrow morning and hit the early entry for the MK as well.

Disneyland Paris 25th December Day 2

2008-01-03T15:16:00.000Z

We certainly get a full nights deep sleep in our room, free from any corridor or adjoining room noise which is a plus. What I am not so keen on is the sparsity of this room which is large but very empty, there is very little decoration or furnishing. The laundry is thin and rather limited, no face flannels are provided at all. There is a safe which is great but the lack of basics such as a kettle or any tea and coffee making facilities does make you wonder why on earth this is regarded on some web sites as a higher starred facility than some of its competitors. To be honest it was not be our first choice and the initial plan this year had been to return to WDW Florida for Christmas, however with news of ToT opening early we just could not resist and had to take what was available in the resort. Breakfast is basic and rather unappealing though the restaurant staff are extremely friendly and courteous it must be said. We take the hotel bus after a small breakfast across to the MK and enter the bag check. Masses of people are congregating around this area in some confusion as they are turned away for not having the correct Annual Pass or Disney Hotel ID to gain Early Admission. Once inside the park we head under the railway station and walk slowly up Main Street in the cool morning air. As we approach the castle the early morning orange sunlight is darting in and out of the clouds creating fantastic strokes of light and shadow on the buildings, a most magical effect that's difficult to capture on camera but highlights beautifully the new gold detail which has been added for the 15th anniversary.

Then we pass under the Parisian MK Castle, always special and unique with its dungeons (and the guest that lurks within) and galleries for guests to explore. The first ride we walk on to with no queue whatsoever is Snow White's house of horrors as I fondly call it. We love this ride for rather odd reasons, I think there's something fantastic in the storytelling of the Imagineers design that take you from the sublime fairytale opening to the dark horrors to come. The forest scene is a classic vintage dark ride experience. We share the car with a Mother and her young daughter who leaves the ride rather unsuitably traumatised for her first morning in Fantasyland, oh dear, hope she recovers quickly. Next its time for Peter Pan: another walk on and another classic ride first developed by Walt for Anaheim in 1955. It has changed a lot since then (most noticeably the fact that Peter Pan now appears in some form in the ride) and a lot of touches now differentiate each version in each park. Amazingly despite its age and roots this ride is proof positive that a classic will endure; just check out the queue times later in the day.

Next its time for (hold your breath) a spin on the carousel, in all the years of visiting Disneylands and Worlds this is actually the first time we have actually been on this old piece of nostalgia, but once again its another Christmas Day morning walk on as are the tea cups. After a quick ride on Pinocchio (no queue again) I then force Jackie to go and climb up inside the balcony of the castle and appear outside to wave for a picture before we head back to the hub and across to Videopolis in search of a warm drink. Unfortunately everything is still shut so we head back to the hub just in time for the rope drop, the trouble is we're on the wrong side of the rope drop. Feeling like Moses trying to part the red sea we head towards Frontierland, two lonesome figures heading west against a sea of charging Discoveryland fans.

We cross sides, passing the Indian village before entering Frontierland, there's no sign of Pocahontas in the camp this morning, hardly surprising though, I estimate the temperature to be just above zero. The lake itself is actually frozen, the Mark Twain paddle cruiser appears crunching its way forward as it cuts a path through the water like some Ice breaking vessel negotiating the Northwest Passage. The Keel boats are also out which we have never seen before; these boats were retired sometime ago as a cost cutting exercise so its great to see them back. Also waiting at the other side of the lake is the Molly Brown, the second paddle steamer, however she uses a central driving paddle instead of the more traditional rear system of the Mark Twain. On reaching BTM we grab a fastpass to return in an hour or so and set off across to POC.

One of our favourite POC rides it has the length and structure of Anaheim, all be it in a slightly different order, yet lacking the utter ludicrous "half the rides missing" experience that Florida "treats" you with. In fact it certainly has a much better themed queueing area than both those parks. However Anaheim still wins by having the proper space and scale in the out at sea section, in Paris, as in Florida, this set seems just slightly too small and cramped. Then its time to pick up our slot for BTM. I think its pretty universally accepted already even by the imagineers themselves that this is a special version of BTM, sitting on an island in the middle of the lake yet boarded as usual on the mainland, the trains first rush off through pitch black tunnels under the lake before emerging onto the island itself. The only thing that is missing is the theming of the ghost town which exists in Anaheim in the final braking section though this is recreated in Paris and given a total twist in Phantom Manor when you descend into the catacombs. And its to Phantom Manor we head too next, first picking up another FP for BTM which should just fit in nicely before lunch. despite a visible queue its pretty much straight onto this efficient loader.

Before taking our second BTM ride we refresh and reheat a little with a cup of tea from the Fuente del Oro Restaurante. I do wish the Americans and the French will join the civilised world one day and realise that tea is not a cup of hot water with a tea bag on the side, and what gives with the hot milk :) Refreshed and warmed it's soon time though to take that next BTM ride, we should just fit it in before lunch at the Blue Lagoon. One thing I wish they would sort out here is the roof of the BTM building that is below the queue area of the fastpass line. Its always constantly littered every time we visit, surely it could be added to a night time cleaning schedule. BTM ridden again, and my hands blue from waving them in the air but forgetting to wear gloves (DOH) we head back over to Adventureland passing La Cabane des Robinson and Adventure Isle on the way.

The entrance to the Blue Lagoon is tucked away in the corner of the fort that creates the facade of the entrance to the POC. The theming and landscaping in this area is superb, for instance we can hear as we walked to this location the roar of the ride from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril, but the lush landscaping keeps it out of sight and you realise there's still a whole area of the park yet to be explored. Like in Anaheim the restaurant itself is actually inside part of the ride, and is highly themed and extremely atmospheric. A major plus here though is the food is superb as is the wine. Its tropically warm as well which is nice and glorious amounts of shellfish, seafood and fine wines are consumed over a long relaxing lunch. The afternoon is then spent watching the shows starting with a rather surreal multi language experience involving a rather bemused looking Pooh and Friends at the Fantasy Festival Stage. Then its straight to the Videopolis theatre for the superb production Of Lion King, which I'm startled to find was choreographed by Strictlys very own darling, Craig Revel Horwood. A more straight theatre adaptation than the Florida and HK versions, this has masses of quality oozing from it. The production values are superb with better lighting and effects than even the West End version had. What is not up to scratch though is the sound which is unfortunately muffled and out of phase at times.

Its impossible to resist but with a parade time approaching we once again just have to take advantage and head over to the Studios, first refreshing in the Studio1 with more cups of hot water and tea bags. ToT has litttle queue again though crush is out of the question with times approaching 120mins. We ride the ToT repeatedly before making our way around to the Aerosmith RnR Coaster. The contrast as you enter this area of the Studios, which has not yet been touched by the new theming is quite startling; fingers crossed it changes soon. A little retail therapy then takes place, Jackie treating herself to a beautiful new watch, then its time to make our way to the Disneyland Hotel again for Christmas Dinner at the California Grill. Keep watching for the reviews.

Disneyland Paris 24th Dec Day 1

2007-12-31T12:33:00.000Z

Early morning Christmas Eve and we're driving down deserted motorways towards Liverpool to catch the first flight to Paris. After parking and checking in we hardly have time for a cup of tea before we are being called (by name) to the gate. Soon we are climbing into the dawn at 32,000ft heading south for the one hour hop to Paris. I always draw breath when landing at Charles de Gaulle; does such a beautiful city deserve one of the ugliest airports on earth. Before we know it the plane is taxiing up to a monstrous concrete silo that apparently has a double life as a terminal building.

After a swift debarking into the freezing air we make our way over to the TGV terminal and buy tickets. The ticket office is housed in what looks like a concrete car park, not even a coat of emulsion to hide the depressing skeleton of the building, I really feel for the poor souls who have to work in this environment.

However the TGV whisks us in ten minutes flat to the Transport Hub of Disneyland Paris where we board a bus to our hotel. Its too early to check in and its not worth bothering to anyway as a line stretches from the Vienna Dream Castle Hotel's desk practically back to the entrance so after dropping the bags with the concierge we head back towards the park, we have a lunch appointment at Inventions.

We arrive back at the transport hub and head over to the bag search area, (Now where is the No bags entrance DLP). What a fantastic site it is to see the ToT in all its glory stretching up into the sky from the Studios as we approach the parks. Last time we were here it was an incomplete grey concrete monolith slowly reaching up in anticipation (A little like the terminal buildings at the airport only the Tower was cleaner). For us it's straight into the Disneyland Hotel for our reservation at Inventions and settle down to the once again exquisite buffet. Its so nice to sit here relaxed with fine wine watching the train pull into Main Street Station whilst enjoying everything this buffet has to offer, and lets face it there's not much it does not have to offer. Superb, and a full review will of course follow.

After lunch we head back through the lobby of the hotel and set off to get our Dream Annual Passes. Once purchased from the guest relations booth we are given a temporary access tkt and told to visit the AP center in the park before 7pm. As soon as we enter the park and hit the town square a trolley enters and Jackie takes time to make a new friend though looking at the photo again neither seems sure of the other...

The Park itself is looking in tip top condition, just as it should for a 15th anniversary with all the repaints on main street now completed; our last two trips last year involved careful camera work to miss out the false facades that had been placed over the scaffolding as the refurbishment took place. We have been lucky enough this year to visit the MKs of Florida, California and Paris and despite the chill today and the fact I only entered the gates 2 minutes ago, I remain convinced once again that this is the most beautiful of the MKs in terms of design and aesthetics.

We make our way into Discoveryland and grab a fastpass for Space Mountain which surprisingly, despite the time of day has a slot available in an hour or so. Based on last year's experience (lets just say it took a long time) this should give us time to get our AP sorted out, however we are dealt with efficiently in the AP office and are in and out quite quickly; so we have a ride on Star Tours which has a small queue before using our FP on SM.It's nice to see the steams working fully, it looks very effective especially in the cold but the piston action of the launch cannon appears to have given up. Space Mountain is , how can I put this politely: great but as rough as ever. Once will be enough this trip I think.

As darkness begins to fall upon the park and preparations begin for the parade we decide to dash over and take our first look at the new additions to the Studios. A lot has changed since our last visit and we cannot wait to see it. The first major change you encounter is the placemaking and themeing as you exit Studio 1. Previously you exited onto what looked like an average main road, a barren piece of tarmac surrounded by the attractions. In a time of tight budgets it was the best thing the imagineers came up with, the excuse given was always that this is in reality what a studio looks like, but it always felt wrong, was rather uninspiring to look at and felt totally lacking in Disney quality. Now the transformation has begun. Hollywood architectural buildings and facades have grown out of the ground in front of the new ToT along with palm trees and new lighting. To the right a new land is materialising "Toon Studio" with another major ride and a some Pixar inspired theming.

By a stroke of luck we seem to have arrived just at a perfect time. A lot of the crowds are heading back to the MK for the parade and there's only a 5min wait time for ToT. Having only just ridden the Californian version a few weeks ago there's not much to add as its the same ride here, known in certain circles as "bad tower" for its lack of the forward driving section and its odd corridor to nowhere between the lift doors. But that's being very picky. its still a fantastic E+ ticket ride the park should be proud of and my goodness, this has a view at night from the top that surpasses all the other towers without any doubt. They should also be proud of Crush, we managed by some amazing good fortune to walk up to this amazingly popular ride just as its reopening after technical difficulties and therefore avoid the usual 100min queues this ride can generate once the Studios has been open a few minutes. Its an odd ride in the trilogy of Nemo rides we have ridden this year. It has less storytelling aspects to it at the beginning, but good grief, once it hits the current section, we both found ourselves dropping and spinning with no recollection as to which way was up or down. In three words Fan tas tic. After a spin on the new Cars Race Rally which is also beautifully themed and then another drop on the ToT we head back to the hotel, pick up our bags and finally check in and get some sleep. Got to make that early entry tomorrow.

Porcupine Tree - Manchester Dec 8th

2007-12-17T08:00:00.000Z

Back to the Academy Jackie and I go for our first PT gig. Been really looking forward to this one since the tickets dropped through the letterbox earlier this year and the albums are hardly off the Linn, I find the music infectious listening. We had to miss them earlier in the year when they played at Preston Guildhall as we were in Florida at the time so it was great to see that they decided to fit a winter tour in as well.

Quite a good support from Anathema (I also have an album of theirs) and then a truly dazzling show from Porcupine Tree who rip with perfection through track after track, the material from Fear of A Blind Planet sounding particularly breathtaking live. The audience is polite and mesmerized by the display of skill on show. Manage to get a few pictures though the band are back lit only with a simple but effective light and video show; think Steve Wilson must be very camera shy.

I don't have any faves tonight in the songs, its all superb. Along with Rush in Rotterdam this is a show of the year for me and I look forward to seeing them again, hopefully if I heard SW correctly, sometime next year after a well earned rest for the band.

Our music photos

Marillion - Manchester Academy 30th Nov

2007-12-16T12:13:00.000Z

Time to return to the Academy (the new building this time which judging from the entrance and the porta cabin bathrooms is not quite finished) to catch Marillion for the second time this year.

“We’re not really a festive band. Most of our songs are about death and water”, joked Hogarth early in the gig. After opening the first set with a selection pulled from Brave I had to smile and agree. The band ended the first set with a sing a long favourite, Seasons End, quite apt for the Christmas show. The second set showcased the impressive back catalogue of Hogarth-era produced music. There were epics, such as Hooks In You and Genie, and then there were foot-tapping rocky numbers like Cannibal Surf Babe and Most Toys which admittedly are fun and work better live than on the album.

The band closed the second set with This Strange Engine - returning to perform a joyful cover of Let It Snow - complete with fake snow, inflatable Santa and Steve Hogarth dressed as Father Christmas.

To be honest I much preferred the focus and energy of the earlier tour when the band seemed fired up promoting the new album. I though there was to much from Brave in the first set which perhaps left me feeling a bit melancholy. Having said all that musicianship was as usual at its highest, the crowd were in top voice and H once again effortlessly held everyone in the palm of his hand with his abundance of charisma.

I'll leave you with the title track from the most recent album Somewhere Else performed live at the forum earlier this year and a link to more pictures from the gig

Our photos from the gig

Las Vegas - Day 5 Nellis AFB

2007-12-11T13:36:00.001Z

F22 Raptor by Tim Beach

I must admit to being slightly concerned that in all the time we had so far been in Vegas I had not seen one advertisement or flyer for the weekend's airshow. Who knows perhaps it had been cancelled whilst we were in Los Angeles.

Because we now had no car, getting to the airshow was a challenge in its own right. We took the monorail up to the Stratosphere early on a glorious Saturday morning and then asked one of the passing buses for advice. The result was basically like a scene from Dumb and Dumber so in the end we took a cab and set off for Nellis AFB. As we approached the base it became obvious the main entrance was off limits to the general public and only for military personnel and the state governor so our taxi driver asked what on earth he should do with a couple of poor souls who were foolish enough to try to walk to an event. The solution was to drop us off in the middle of the desert at the NASCAR speedway arena where 200,000 other people had arrived by car, then get bussed back to the base. I'm already wondering how we're going to get back to the hotel but we will worry about that later.

Jackie enters a KC-10

Fantastic displays throughout the day against the backdrop of clear sparkling blue skies and terracotta mountains. Plenty of space between the ground items and numerous of aircraft open for a good nosey around inside. A reasonable selection of food was on offer as well which made a change from the usual airshow fare. It was interesting to see how the average American seemed reluctant to queue for anything other than burgers and hot dogs, the lines for these items being as long as a Disney ride in peak season whilst the delicious Indian cuisine on offer had no queue at all.

B52

The flight line was well placed and despite the vast numbers attending it was always easy to find a prime viewing spot, especially with lots of people choosing to view from under the shade of a B52s wing.

The butt ugly or beautiful A-10. The Warthog

Favourites of the day had to be the old, ugly versatile A10, an aircraft which for some reason has always had a place in my heart. The great Korean and Vietnam set pieces which as Jackie pointed out gave great instruction on how different aircraft designs were developed for specific purpose. The Canadian Hornet team must have heard I was in the crowd sporting a RUSH tour t shirt, as its display was performed to a track from Snakes and Arrows. The Thunderbirds put on a superb and lengthy display: the missing man formation was particularly poignant as it flew out from the mountain landscape opposite.

F22 Raptor by Tim Beach

The F22 Raptor stealth bomber took to the skies late afternoon, this was the first time we had seen this beast in action. An unbelievable example of man and machine performing the almost impossible. The manoeuvres were breathtaking, if a little deafening! This was the ultimate highlight for us. Raptor pictures kindly supplied by Tim Beach who we met at Maclaren Airport on our return home, instinct telling us that a man with a lens that long snapping shots must have been at the airshow.

In the evening as the light faded the question of how we were to get back to the city still remained unanswered. The mobile had no signal and being shipped back in the opposite direction out into the desert would be a mistake. I began to look for a sympathetic looking individual among all the AF personnel, call me a sucker for a lady in uniform. After overseeing the State Governor's departure, her superior officer kindly sorted us an escorted ride off the base to the town of Nellis. Our lucky streak remained and we jumped on a bus opposite heading in vaguely the right direction. Phew- Vegas bound for a reservation that evening at Rosemary's Restaurant. ( Highly recommended place off the strip). Review to follow.

Below I have included two links. The first takes you to our gallery from the airshow and the second is a link to the website of photographer Tim Beach

Our Nellis Airshow Photographs

Tim Beach Airshow Photographs

Los Angeles and Las Vegas - Day 4

2007-11-23T08:47:00.000Z

Did I mention a few days ago how my patience with air travel is running out. Well here we go again. After dropping the car off at the rental depot at LAX we boarded the shuttle bus, the driver stopping on the way to hand out a pre packed lunch to a homeless gentleman sleeping among his shopping trolleys in a bus stop in Inglewood.

We are just about to check in when the whole airport terminal is evacuated. I don't have a problem with being evacuated for security risks but I object to not being informed about what's going on whilst being left to bake on the pavement two yards from the same terminal. It also gets my goat to then see the same security personnel wandering up and down the deserted terminal, laughing and joking with each other and generally acting like children who have the whole playground to themselves. After almost an hour more and more people build up outside we are admitted back in to scenes of utter chaos as the system fails to cope with so many people trying to check in at once. Its an absolute farce worthy of a third world country.

The flight to Vegas is quick and easy and after collecting our bags we grab a taxi to the MGM Signature buildings. We have a suite here for the next few days and it can only be described as grandiose, magnificent and elevated, especially as it's on the penthouse level. Our separate bedroom is a corner room with floor to ceiling windows; one side giving fantastic views of the mountains and the other the strip itself. Though I could probably get in the jacuzzi in one of the bathrooms right now and go to sleep we head out for a walk up the strip.

We have been to Vegas some three times before usually for no more than 2 days and I have to say that has always been enough. Even though there are some new fancy looking hotels now it only takes a few minutes to peek inside them to realise they are exactly the same as anything else you have already seen. A dim smoke filled casino does not interest me and the same boutique shops selling the same goods. It keeps popping in my head we could be either watching Fantasmic in an hour or riding Indiana Jones again and I have to remind myself we are here for the airshow tomorrow at Nellis otherwise I think we would get on the next plane back to Anaheim. We also have some great restaurants booked (we hope) starting with Sea Blue in the MGM.

After buying some bread to make a quick breakfast with in the morning we head back to change for dinner. The Sea Blue is nicely placed for us from our tower because the restaurants in the MGM are all placed near where the walkway connects the MGM signature towers to the MGM main hotel complex. We check in at the podium and are seated immediately. Full review to appear in the Restaurant Section Soon.

MGM Signature

Anaheim - Day 3

2007-11-20T13:58:00.000Z

Looking through my notes I see that we spent the remainder of that second day having a great time wandering through the Magic Kingdom until the evening, passing the time riding our favourite rides which were all walk ons. If I was forced to place the three Magic Kingdoms in order of preference I think it would go something like this.

1. Disneyland California for its extra beauty and lushness, its hidden corners and the way its size is so deceiving. Not forgetting of course that all the rides here are full and complete, non of that edited experience that was rushed into Florida. The only downside has to be the quaint and rather demure looking castle. I accept it's the original and perhaps deserves less of a hard time for being a rather stumpy brother, but I just think more majesty and grandeur are needed in the centre of the park.

2. Disneyland Paris. Once again it's such an attractive park and one with proper seasons and sometimes real snow coating its ground. The castle has to be the greatest of its achievements; pure stone here, not a piece of fibreglass in sight. Once again the rides are full and complete (in some cases superior) all that's really required is for the park to slowly develop a little more and with the Tower opening in what was a rather bland Studio Complex along with the massive re theming and placemaking happening there, Disneyland Paris may finally have the park that was originally imagined for them.

3. Magic Kingdom Florida. Not my favourite (So this may seem cooler than I intend). It seems so false compared to the others. The castle seems too clinical and plastic. Pirates of the Caribbean is a disgrace to the original ride, why do we not enter Haunted Mansion through the front door? Fantasyland from certain angles looks like a car park with rides scattered on it. Its one saving grace is PhilharMagic, a show that should be copied into all the other parks with haste. However it does have some areas I like. The lagoon approach is inspired, if you have the time and the transport system is ideally placed to get you away quickly :) However I tend to think of Walt Disney World as a whole package and it's the rest of it that excites me be it Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, or the Studios. When it's all combined Florida is still the number one.

Day 3.

After a morning in both parks re riding favourites and searching out things we missed( I must especially mention Monsters Inc here which we actually rode on a preview the last time we were in California but it was then incomplete and did not make a whole lot of sense. Now the storytelling aspect is much more defined and the ride more satisfying as a whole). It soon became time to think about lunch. Not wanting to repeat the same mistake as yesterday and actually get food that tasted of something we decide to grab the car, hit the freeway and head out to the nearest beach area. Newport beach is about 20mins away and we soon park up on the beach and search out somewhere to dine. I like the feel of this coastal town. Its not too over trendy and still has lots of working boat yards down its back alleys and marinas.

As we are walking around these we come across what looks like a huge seafood deli "The Crab Cooker" and notice it has a restaurant attached to it. It's doing a brisk trade with the locals, who seem to be discussing the collapsing property prices in the area, and it looks just the place. A lovely chowder to start served in a no nonsense plastic cup, then Lobster, King Crab Claws and Sauvignon blanc for an unbelievably small amount of money. If I lived here, and maybe we should if property really is going cheap, I could see myself eating here every lunch time.

We return to change and rest at the hotel. Later that night we return to the Magic Kingdom on our way to the Napa Rose restaurant, a cast member on the PoC had advised us to come into the park in the evening and ride the new Nemo attraction at night, when the queues are shorter, this plan also gave us a look at the parade as well. The new Nemo ride occupied what used to be the Submarine Voyage and is basically the ride re imagineered into the Nemo environment with some modern technology twists once you're in the dark section. I like the a mix of old ( the subs are the originals from Walt's days, minus their diesel engines and newly fitted with eco friendly electrics) and new ( wait and see!)bringing a new lease of life to a dated old ride. Some of the story telling aspects don't work as well as in the EPCOT shell version but you do get ride value here with the submarines taking about 20minutes to complete a circuit. This must be a nightmare ride when the park is busy with no Fast Pass available and agonizingly slow loading times. After our ride we take the hop on the monorail, conveniently located above the Nemo attraction to Downtown Disney and from there we walk in to the Napa Rose restaurant in the Grand Californian Hotel. Dinner here is everything we had hoped and a review can be reached below or using the side menu.

California Photos

Napa Rose Restaurant

Anaheim - Day 2

2007-11-19T13:38:00.000Z

After a good night's sleep in the quiet rooms of the Hojo we cross the road and search out breakfast opportunities. Mimis restaurant is on the doorstep and what a fine establishment this turned out to be, setting us up with various omelettes, eggs benedict, waffles and pancakes over the course of our stay. Delicious and just what you need before tackling a day of non stop walking otherwise known as the Disney experience. Having sorted out tickets we entered a rather deserted Californian Adventure. It was actually a little before official park opening time so only Soarin is open yet. As we enter the hanger that forms the queuing area I found myself wondering again why the imagineers in Florida seemed to think it was acceptable to have put little thought into themeing the ride's entrance and queue area in EPCOT.

We bordered the first ride of the day. I still have a problem with the rerun value this ride gives. It's a wonderful experience the first time but its replay value seems limited; in fact I think I enjoy the music more than the ride and can now happily nod off whilst being gently rocked from side to side. On the plus side at least here in California they seemed to be using a freshly struck print of the film. The last time we saw it in EPCOT in April the image was marred by a totally unacceptable amount of scratches and dust marks.

When we leave we can see people starting to gather at the hub so we head over to await the rope drop heading for the Tower of Terror which we ride fanatically no matter which park we are in. In fact our Christmas plans have now been totally re adjusted for this year due to the opening of Disneyland Paris's very own Tower on December 22nd. They will inherit the same interpretation as the Californian Adventure version (with some minor storytelling differences and a couple of architectural tweaks). I had actually forgotten some of this Tower's unique points: such as the mirror, as it's a couple of years since we were here last, so I really enjoy it. However I still think it's not quite the full experience compared to the Floridian version.

Jackie wants to head over to get onto California Screaming now that our breakfasts have been shaken about as much as possible, so we set a steady pace and head to the far side of the park. However when we arrive we discover its not set to run until a little later so to pass the time we decide to hit a ride we have never bothered with before as it always had lines over a mile long and no fastpass. Im talking about that odd looking Ferris wheel that sits overlooking the lake. I say odd because the swinging cars on this don't just pivot on the outside of the frame like any normal ride, but ride a track inside the wheel as well and at certain times get thrown out along these rails. It's hard to describe and the effect on the rider is well illustrated with these two photographs of Jackie.

Here we see Jackie looking calm and swinging gently over the park

And here the car has started to slide out.

After being shot in the air on the Maliboomer then launched on California Screaming its time to take in the more civilized side of this park and in my opinion no Disney park does it better than the Hyperion Theatre at the California Adventure with its production of Aladdin. A full blown musical production in a purpose built enclosed theatre with three levels of seating; this show is worth the price of admission in itself. With great timing we arrive for the first show of the day. I am always staggered by the quality of the shows that Disney puts on in its parks but this one just has everything and should not be missed. Never make the mistake of thinking this is for kids, if anything it's too good for them :)

For lunch we head into Downtown Disney for an instantly forgettable experience at the Jazz Kitchen. The food is best described as bland and boring, in fact it must be quite an achievement to make the cooking of the deep south taste so dull. I don't think I'll be wasting blog space reviewing this at all. After dinner we head into the Magic Kingdom but I'm going to talk about that more in the next entry, its very slow in here too with no Fast Pass machines operating at all and only the new Nemo ride attracting any sort of line. After a full day its time to get back and rest before heading out to Stanton to Park Avenue restaurant. I'll put the review up as soon as I can.

I'm finally including a link to our Californian photos. At the moment it's not a full album but I will be updating it on a daily basis.

More California Photos

Los Angeles - Anaheim - Day 1

2007-11-15T20:18:00.000Z

I was prepared to give BMI the benefit of the doubt after our last experience with them flying the shortest haul possible to Newquay. I even rang them the night before we travelled following the precise instructions on the website to give our API information and check our seat allocations (BMI don't appear to have entered the 21st century yet and allow you to do this online). On arrival at the check in desk we are of course asked for our API information all over again, a process that doubles the time taken to check in. When we ask the check in assistant why I wasted half an hour on the phone giving them this information (as per their own instructions) she says the computers don't talk to each other at the call centre so it's a waste of time. We are given our boarding cards for this flight through to Vegas and the connection through to Los Angeles. Once through security and checking the departure board it's soon apparent that the flight is going to be about an hour late. We have yet to leave the ground and my impression of BMI is once again confirmed. We eventually board and its the usual monotonous flight over the Atlantic interrupted by some poor excuse for food. The flight was delayed due to a technical error. Do BMI ever service any of their planes?

Quick film review. Die hard 4.0 - laughable for all the wrong reasons, the die hard franchise now truly leaves the action genre and enters the slapstick comedy genre. Harry Potter (the last one) seen it before but passed the time. Seven (also seen before, who hasn't. BMIs excuse for showing old films is to call them classics) but it's a long time since I had last seen it and I had forgotten what a well crafted film this is.

Finally arrived in Vegas without picking up any lost time so had missed the connection. Good old TED got us on the next flight out two hours later and boarded us on time, and arrived at the gate at LAX early. However the jetway must have been operated by trained monkeys (I think that was the captains announcement) who couldn't get it to line up with the door despite attempts to ram the side of the plane. We are being sorely tested by airline travel today (or has two days passed).

Then we collected the car and Jackie is following the smooth Google Earth instructions to the Hojo on Harbor in Anaheim. Smooth check in, nice room with a view to restore my faith we are on holiday. Roll on tomorrow.

In Transit

2007-11-06T04:19:00.000Z

Well I'm sat here typing as the clock approaches four thirty am. What an ungodly hour to be listening to Alex Lestair on the radio whilst drinking tea and having weetabix.Still he's playing the new Krauss and Plant single from the new album that dropped through the mail last week and is worth a listen at any hour. Just time to say off we go then into the West. The joys of a 10 hour flight await (AAARRRGGGHH) but hopefully the rewards at the end will be worth it. They better! Next meal (not including the muck they throw at us on the plane) will be somewhere in California, see you soon.

Amsterdam Day 4

2007-11-05T09:25:00.000Z

After a good nights sleep we returned to Amsterdam on a morning train. Once back we had plans to see the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh museum. The Van Gogh musuem is housed in a new modern building with I'm sure many architectural qualities. Prince Charles would probably describe it as an ugly carbuncle and for once I may be inclined to agree with him. I have never really got Van Gogh and being subjected to a gallery devoted to his work I found the history of his life a lot more interesting than the art itself. The irony is he spent most of his life frustrated that he was no good at anything. Not to be cruel but when it comes to some of his art he had a point. I don't want to sound snobby but what should be a calm experience is ruined by the fact the gallery seems filled with a high percentage of ignorant people, who pile around at breakneck speed trying to find that horrible sunflower picture like train spotters trying to tick off the final number in an I Spy book. So perhaps my view is tainted a little but all in all a very disappointing experience.

A good lunch is then taken in a brown cafe (Cafe Panaroma on Raadhuisstraat) that does some of the best baby back ribs I have ever had the pleasure of eating. Jackie has a great piece of Sole in a lemon sauce and some enormous potato wedges. Then we walk around in the evening to Anne Franks house. A truly moving experience even though I have never read the diary, something i put to rights immediately, sitting up most of the night reading it .

Im going to leave you with a little more Rush , the overture from the R30 tour from 2004. Would love to have shown you something from this tour but I simply could not find a decent clip that was either in focus or undistorted.

Amsterdam Day 3

2007-11-02T13:28:00.000Z

After another traditional breakfast following another slightly disturbed sleep, we set off for Amsterdam's central station with an overnight bag to catch the train to Rotterdam. We will keep the room on here in Amsterdam, as it will save packing and unpacking. The trains are relatively cheap and frequent so within an hour or so we are in Rotterdam looking for our hotel.Whilst looking at the map in the metro station a member of staff tries to explain to us how to use the strippenkaarts (which by the way, have to be the first ticket I have come across that requires origami skills to work ) to travel on the trams and metro. I feel a headache coming on the more he explains. Eventually we get on a tram and stick the strippenkaart into the machine after folding it into various shapes first. Of course when we hand it to the conductor he bursts out laughing and tells us we have done it wrong. Other than that we sit on the tram and off it goes. A little later when we are the only people left and it appears the tram has reached the end of its journey I mention to the conductor where we want to go (near the euro mast). Turns out we're on the wrong tram so we stay on it and the conductor tells us where to get off, points down a street and tells us to pick another tram up somewhere down there. If we do all this in an hour the good news is we don't have to play with the strippenkaart anymore. Eventually after a lot of staring at maps we arrive at the hotel. Only in Rotterdam would the hotel be floating on the water and resemble a floating Hong Kong restaurant. In fact it practically is, with two chinese restaurants, a chinese supermarket and a few rooms. I'll not go in into details but it's a bit basic and I would not recommend it. Other than that it's in a quite spot (middle of nowhere) apart from the dock across from us seems to be drilling for oil and theres a constant bang, bang, bang. Just hope to god that stops by tonight. We check in , have something to eat in the restaurant which is pretty awful, and stare at the rain. The idea was to go to Delft and meet up with some people from the T.N.M.S. forums, but we have spent so much time finding the hotel its now too late. We go for a walk, have a rest, shower and set off to find the Ahoy Arena, fortunately the weather has gone nice again though it's chilly.

We walk around the old dock area, which is the only nice bit of Rotterdam I think, the rest is basically a huge industrial estate the size of a city. Crossing a large bridge we decide to risk the strippenkaart ticket again and stamp it a few times just for the hell of it. I fully take the blame for deciding that I know where the Ahoy is, and then we go past it and watch it disappear behind us. Eventually we get there and seem to be about the first 30 people there. Now you would think that would give you loads of time to waste and be bored standing in a queue. No. The Ahoy has a little place round the corner where you can buy fries and mayonnaise. If you don't arrive a couple of hours before the arena doors open though chances are the concert will be over by the time the girl cooks your order.

Eventually we are in and walking as fast as possible into the arena. No seats here, its stand and have fun. We get straight onto the barrier right in front of Geddys keyboards and Pedals. Theres a great atmosphere here as well, no major crushing, but boy its already starting to get warm and they are not even on yet. Once the show starts its unbelievable, this crowd are so up for it and seem to be moving as one. The sides unlike Manchester do look quite but who cares when you are in the front of a crowd of jumping, dancing, appreciating fans. Jackies jumping and punching the air so much I can see Geddy peering over his sunglasses and smiling at the reaction. Everyone is in good voice too, singing out every word even to the new material. This night and last night are being filmed for a DVD and it's good to see the band are on fire, reacting to the atmosphere of this fantastic crowd. If anything the sound is more guitar heavy here than it was in Manchester and Geddys vocals are the best I have ever heard. Geddy has a few problems at the opening of the second half with his bass levels which seems to annoy him a little, lots of indications to stage left, but it's soon sorted.

A lot has been said about the opening of the second half and the decision to play 5 new songs in succession. I have never really had a problem with it but I did notice in Manchester how it did slightly slow down the crowd a little. Here in Rotterdam something completely different seems to happen. The crowd seem to know the new material so well they are supporting it like crazy and the atmosphere is just getting better and better. Then during "Way the Wind Blows" something really special happens, the crowd are yelling the chorus and on the spur of the moment invent this swaying arm motion to the whole songs chorus. I almost feel a tear run down my cheek as you can see Geddy and Alex smiling away at the reaction.

It's an absolute joy to be so near and a joy to be among such appreciating fans. The eye contact with Geddy really adds so much to the experience and I hope they spotted our enthusiasm and appreciation for the music. I think Jackie has signed herself up to form a groupie for the next tour. This seems confirmed as Geddy comes on in the encore and is given the basket of special T- Shirts they throw out at each concert (think its 8-10 a gig). He steps forward points a finger at Jackie and aims it at her chest, low enough so it can't go anywhere else. Well thats how it looked and thats how we'll remember it.

A couple of things I remember after the concert that made you realise you were not in the UK.One, wondering why no one was moving to get out and then realising we had joined a line of thousands collecting coats from the cloakroom (can't imagine that ever at a UK gig). Wondering why a about a 1000 fans are all stood in a group next to an empty road. (They were waiting for the green man to come on before they crossed the deserted road) these people are so polite.

One thing I didn't like, most people were very dehydrated by intermission time, but being a standing concert it's hard to move,buy water and then ever get back to the front. Asked the security on the other side of the barrier about water for people "Not our problem, we don't give it out". First standing gig I have been to where water is not given out. So extra thanks to the camera crews who were filming from the pit who gave out there own water.

And finally, got the metro back. Of course the metro people had put loads of staff on to help people through the barriers quickly. Jackie handed our strippy thing over and says "We're English we haven't got a clue" I think the lady who stamped it for us is probably still laughing at our ticket even today.

Our Concert Photos

Rush official website

Neil Peart official website

Amsterdam Day 2

2007-10-31T08:07:00.000Z

We both awake a little grumpy and drag ourselves out of bed and into the shower. Downstairs we are fed by the owner a traditional dutch breakfast (tea, crumpets, croissants,ham,cheese and a boiled egg). Its all very nice but don't try and do breakfast here in a hurry. First stop today after we get our bearings is to head over to the museum quarter and visit the Rijks. We decide to walk as it's a glorious day and we arrive by chance exactly at opening time. Highlights are the Vermeer's and Rembrandt's but there's also a lot more to see here including some fascinating dolls houses complete with miniature Delft pottery. We then walk back in the direction of the flower market looking for an area that will have decent restaurants in it for lunch. Once again we find either a lot of places to avoid, or a lot of decent places that don't serve lunch, or lastly plenty of places that think lunch is a Burger or a pastry and a coffee. The guide book keeps telling us we should at least try the Indonesian cuisine so in the flower market we settle on a small place called Sampurna. Something called Sale Siang for me as a starter which blows my head off and clears my airwaves but is quite tasty, followed by a platter consisting of fried rice with vegetables cooked in coconut milk, fried soya, fried nuts, pickled vegetables, prawn crackers and a boiled egg with a thick and spicy soya dressing. Alongside this are skewers of chicken in satay sauces. Its all delicious and fresh tasting and totally unlike the gunk normally served in Chinese and Cantonese restaurants. Jackie has a similar main platter with the addition of prawns and chili fried together and a saffron rice.

We then walk back from here along Singel Canal buying some bulbs from the flower market and head back to the room where we collapse and catch up on the sleep we missed last night. Later after a shower we head to DAM square which is hosting a rather sleazy looking fun fair. Its very easy in Amsterdam to loose all sense of direction. all the canals look the same and all the houses are the same as well. Eventually we end up back on Singel and start looking for somewhere for dinner.

We finally decide on Casa Di David, an Italian establishment of modest proportions but packed with locals. Food is excellent mixed grilled fish for me and perch for Jackie. Nicely washed down with a bottle of Pinot Grigio, suddenly life seems OK again.
Tomorrow it's finally time to head out to Rotterdam for the concert.

More Amsterdam Photos

Rijksmuseum

Amsterdam

2007-10-26T10:33:00.001Z

"the evening plane rises up from the runway

over constellations of light"

Neil Peart 1989

The following morning I load the already packed suitcase into the car and we set off for John Lennon Airport, Liverpool. The flight leaves after two o clock so we have plenty of time to buy overpriced drinks and food whilst we wait. Have a quick chat in the lounge to a bunch of Dutch Rush fans who were here for the Manchester gig last night.

The flight is being shown as 20mins late departure though they announce us to go to the gate 10mins before the board says, herd us on quickly and then catch up the rest of the time in the air. Plenty of Rush t shirts all over the half empty flight, including a guy who has yet to tell his wife he's just got a ticket for the Tues night Rotterdam show off ebay; "I'll text her when I arrive!" , wonder how that went down?

Once we arrive in Schipol its straight down to the station to catch the train into Amsterdam central. Once there we follow some emailed instructions from the hotel that takes us down Singel canal until we finally arrive at the door. The hotel looks nice and seems to be in a nice area. Some of the local residents are even getting into the festive spirit a little early by putting little red lights in the doorways ;). Actually the hotel was chosen after quite a lot of searching. In the end we went for the number one choice on trip advisor which had a lot of good reviews. It's a traditional Canal House from the 18th century called Hotel Brouwer. Our room is on the 3rd floor which is accessed by a lift the size of a coffin. The room is nice and spacious and clean and has great views out over the canals and the bridge, where the tourist boats can be seen passing underneath. An English lady has been left in charge of the night desk so we ask her about finding somewhere to eat as we are famished. She says there are plenty of places around but I'm not sure what she has in mind. In our research we had already realised that food was going to be a bit of an issue in Amsterdam. They have little or no culinary heritage of there own, lots of Indonesian restaurants of varying standards. Lots and lots of tourist trap places, and plenty of basic Kebab shop establishments. Added to that was the fact that everywhere seemed to be shut tonight. We ended up near the New Church in an Argentine Beef House (there's lots of these as well). Pretty unmemorable apart from the fact it was way more expensive than it should have been.

Job number one tomorrow has to be to work out where on earth all the decent restaurants hide in this city. Surely the locals want to eat decent food at some stage.

After dinner we return back to the hotel and get to bed. Nobody on trip advisor seems to have mentioned that those nice views of the canal come with a price. With no double glazing and 18th century window frames that barely fit into the walls, the hotels location is not the most restful of areas. Finally get to sleep dreaming of scooters, motorbikes and people falling into the canals.

"Celebrate the moment"

2007-10-24T08:24:00.000Z

" A certain degree of imagination

A measure of make-believe"

Neil Peart 2002

It's Sunday 14th October and that can only mean one thing; the day of the concert at Manchester. Months of waiting are finally over and we can begin our own personnel tour. Its a short one granted, but it's twice as long as the last time we saw them. Last time on the R30 tour we set off into Manchester rather early and ate some utter rubbish before the concert. This time we take it easy and have a fantastic meal of monkfish in a garlic and borlotti bean sauce cooked by yours truly with a friend whose coming with us. All set to a background of music from various Rush albums, utter bliss. An absolute ridiculously expensive bottle of Sauvignon Blanc helps as well. Finally we set off and within 40mins are parked up outside the arena with time for a visit to a couple of bars before the gig. One beauty of Rush is they can be guaranteed to come on stage exactly when they say and theirs never a support, just a full 3 hour show from them.

Finally we take our seats, the lights dim and the pre show film begins. Then we are straight into a non stop show that never lets up. People had moaned for various reasons about this set list. There are too many new songs in it (you don't say! they are touring for a new album) and it's killing the atmosphere. Well once again Manchester showed that when Rush come to town you can't sit down and there are no dull moments.

I have to admit I was slightly worried about the tickets we had for this gig. Last time we were only 6 or 7 rows from the center of the stage and it was fantastic but this time we find ourselves half way up a side, 1 block back from Alex. Reading gig reports on forums and speaking to a friend on the phone the previous night had not helped either. He had mentioned how the sides of the arenas were looking dead and everyone was just sat like zombies. In the end I resigned myself to thinking "well at least when we get to Rotterdam we have floor tickets" though Jackie didn't seem to be worried saying that Manchester would be different. Boy was she right, In fact I think blocks 102 and 103 were rocking more than anywhere else in the arena and you could see the guys noticing this all night.

Too many highlights to mention but Natural Science has to sit up there. But I have to mention how brilliant I thought songs like "Far Cry", "The Way the Wind Blows", in fact all the new tracks came across. Alex really looks like he's having a blast ripping out the raw energy in these songs. Other delights were "Mission", a song I find works so much better live without its over precise and clinical guitar mix from the album.

Came out with the biggest smile on my face, the inability to string a sentence together properly due to having lost my voice and knowing we have to get some sleep as we have a flight to catch tomorrow. Wonder if Rush travel on Easyjet?

"We are Young"

2007-10-13T21:30:00.000Z

"Wandering the face of the Earth
Wondering what our dreams might be worth"

Neil Peart 1991

I can't believe the weekend is finally here but as usual these things spring up out of nowhere and surprise you. Tomorrow we will watch Rush perform on the Snakes and Arrows tour at the MEN Arena Manchester. These tickets were booked eons ago and in the meantime the band have been touring constantly since June 13 where it all kicked off in Atlanta Georgia. On Monday following the Manchester gig it's time to take a flight to Amsterdam to follow the three piece across the North Sea to the Netherlands. Basing ourselves in Amsterdam we will take a short break sampling the hospitality of the dutch T.N.M.S members (a forum of Rush supporters) the culture of Amsterdam, the concert in Rotterdam, and of course lovely food and drink.

See you later

Shula's review added and new links

2007-10-08T13:56:00.000Z

I spent today going through some photo files from the last trip because as I mentioned previously, I discovered that some restaurant reviews are missing. The first one to be added is for Shulas at the Swan and Dolphin and the link is on the right as usual. Also in the Favourite Links section is a new link to Alain Littayes excellent site. Alain is the Co-Author with Didier Ghez of the Disneyland Paris "From sketch to reality" book and a theme park lover since he discovered Walt Disney World in 1975. The site is packed full of behind the scenes information from all the parks but what really caught my eye was his latest DLP entry regarding the opening date for ToT. This has now changed and looks like being Dec 22nd so today has been spent booking flights and hotels to organise this years Christmas break. which will begin on the 24th. Time to get those Dream Annual Passes renewed and more restaurants booked.

Tidying Up

2007-10-03T12:16:00.000Z

I took a look at the blog the other day and thought, where has that restaurant review from Catal gone; where is that video from EPCOT? That's the problem with this blog, every time you add something to the top something has to drop off the bottom into the archive. You could find them eventually if you keep clicking the "older posts" button or know the date and how to use the archive links over there on the right; but it was not an easy procedure.

So I have been housekeeping the blog for a couple of days and made some simple links that take you directly to the reviews and videos. Oddly I found some of the links could not be reached at all as they had a different address so that's been fixed. I also notice that some very recent reviews did not even make it onto the blog at all so I will fix that as soon as I can find the notes for the restaurants.

Over the last couple of days we have been reading reviews and deciding which restaurants are going onto the itinerary this time for the DL California trip and the Vegas Weekend. Catal was a great place to visit, despite being semi jetlagged, when we arrived last time so its the same again for the night we arrive. Jazz Kitchen perhaps in DTD for lunch and music the following day and then a drive out to Park Avenue in Stanton. Not too sure about the following days lunch but its Napa Rose that evening. In Vegas we're not fully decided but the shortlist is; Seablue at MGM, Lawrys, Olives at Bellagio, Emerils at MGM, Rosemarys Restaurant and one of the better restaurants at Wynn (problem is there's a few and they all look good).

Lastly a little teaser for the weekend at Vegas. Can't wait

Kosheen September Manchester Academy

2007-10-01T08:26:00.000Z

The weeked we returned from Newquay, Kosheen took to the road again to promote the new album "Damage". This in itself was quite strange as the album was released all over Europe earlier in the year just before the previous tour. However due to frustrating legal reasons they could not release in the UK, though most people just imported a copy anyway. At the end of the last gig, in the smaller Academy 3, Sian announced they would be back in the autumn, so it was a real treat to have them for Academy seconds, this time in the larger hall 2. A longer set list, a much better support band called Rochelle and a stage with more room for the band and Sian to move all added up to an electric atmosphere. As usual a fantastic mix of songs, with more tracks now coming from the new album yet with room for all the classics. The band were as tight and polished as ever despite this being the opening show of the tour, with Sians voice being on top form and the better sound and acoustics of this larger room really helping us to hear Markees guitar playing with a clarity I had not heard on any previous show. Then again we were leaning on the monitors at the front of the stage.

It was a typical Kosheen crowd, excited and energetic giving back nothing but positive signals to the band throughout every song. Sian seems to lap up this energy and be totally inspired by it, always comfortable with her audience. My only criticsm is that after the Kokopelli tour we have lost the sight of Darren playing bass and now have him stuck at the rear of the stage on keyboard duties, which seems to detach him and the crowd from seeing his input into the music.

I'll leave you with the last video Kosheen produced earlier this year and the title track from the new album. Its time to go and start seriously planning the Amsterdam/Rotterdam trips where rock music will mix with culture and where unfortunately we will just miss Kosheen by a few days as they head into the European leg of this tour.

overkill directed by marcus sternberg:
shot in argentina & bristol dec 2006

Kosheen

Rochelle

Lytham and the dunes

2007-09-24T17:37:00.000Z

After the Newquay trip we are already missing the sight and smell of the sea. We had planned to do a little walking trip around Malham and the limestone paving, but the primeval urge to see the sea was too strong and we set off in the direction of Lytham St Annes. Our first spot is the dunes opposite the airport at Blackpool where our shoes soon fill with sand as we run down the hills as fast as possible in order to climb the next virgin sand hill. It's absolutely hilarious and good exercise as you seem to take two steps forward and three steps back as you sink up to your knees into the sugar sand. We then drove along the coast to Lytham and walked a little further. Newquay, however, it's not and by the time we got to Lytham the tide was so far out we may as well have been walking on the flats at Malham. In Newquay you know you can always stop in a beach side bar that's as continental, hip and cosmopolitan as anything in the South of France (as long as you avoid the town), here in Lytham a greasy spoon and a cup of weak tea seem to be the only things on offer. Oh well we can't be spoilt every week. Anyway loads to look forward to. Kosheen return to the Academy (Manchester) next week.

Newquay Day 4

2007-09-21T14:54:00.000Z

Another fine breakfast got us off to a good start today. We treated ourselves yesterday as we passed back through the town to some "Weird Fish" clothing. We want to tackle the headland at the other side of Fistral Beach before we go to lunch at the Windswept Cafe today. It's a little cooler today thanks to quite a strong wind that's blown up overnight, though it's still warm when the sun breaks through. This means it's a surfer's delight on the beach today with some good looking swells and surf starting to build. We have both really loved the hotel, the food (especially the food), the landscape and the walking here and will probably return. We walk all the way out onto this rather empty headland that has a house perched right down at the bottom, it looks occupied though the pool area seems to be in need of repair. It looks a great place for an Agatha Christie mystery.

By the time we have made our way all the way around and back again to Fistral beach its time for lunch at the Windswept Cafe. I go for the Tagine of Lamb which is lovely and tender and Jack has a superb "baked squash with feta cheese and crumble" really delicious. A bottle of Rioja helps the lunchtime drift by and then its time to head off back to meet the taxi at the hotel.

The flight is due to leave at around 4pm so by getting to the airport for 2.30pm we should have plenty of time. On arrival at St Mawgan International airport (tongue in cheek) we discover our plane won't be arriving until "possibly" 8.15pm AAARRRGGGHHH! It appears BMI Baby, a) don't possess a fleet of planes that are in working order and b) don't have a back up plan when a plane develops a fault. Next time I'll fly Air Southwest. We are give £3 each to buy sandwiches from the cafe and that's about it, you would think an airport that only has to handle planes no larger than a 737 would at least have the requisite number of chairs in its terminal; but even this seems to be too much to ask. The rest of the day is spent watching all the air southwest flights leave on time and drinking tea!

Anyway here are some links to all the fantastic parts of this holiday, not including BMI Baby, starting with a link to the gallery as the blog seems to be rather temperamental in allowing the pictures to be clickable and expandable.

Our Newquay Gallery

Headland Hotel

The Seafood Restaurant

The Windswept Cafe

The New Harbour Restaurant

Newquay Day 3

2007-09-19T06:58:00.000Z

Today we're going to make our way to Padstow and visit Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant for lunch. We want to fit some walking in as well along the Southwest route for a couple of hours and the plan was to bus part way, walk and then rejoin a bus. However as its Sunday the buses only run every two hours from Newquay to Padstow so we'll have to look at an alternative on the way back. We've packed different shoes and Jackie has some leggings for the walk back in the small rucksack so fingers crossed the dress code is not over formal.

Looking across the bay at Padstow

The bus trip is prolonged to say the least, we could have flown home and half way back again in the time it takes to get to Padstow but eventually we arrive one and a half hours after leaving Newquay. Padstow is a small village made up of a lot of touristy shops, some pubs and tea shops and the harbour. The landscape here is very flat compared to the area around Newquay so its much less dramatic views. Across the estuary is the village of Rock which you can reach by ferry and which has the main beaches.

Inside Rick Steins Seafood Restaurant

After a wander around we go to the Seafood Restaurant and are seated in the main room. Jackie has Char- grilled Whole Dover Sole with Sea Salt and Lime (The sole is seasoned with sea salt and cooked un- skinned on a grill. It's served with a light butter and lime sauce.) This is the best fish dish ever Jackie says, the fish is full of flavour and the sauce is just zingy enough to cut through the quite rich tasting Dover Sole.

I have a starter of Salt and Pepper Squid Tempura with Coriander, Chili, Watercress and Beansprouts. This is absolutely divine, I had no idea beansprouts could taste so fresh. Forget the horrible greasy things served up in a Chinese restaurant or stuffed into a bag of pre packed salad, these are alive with freshness. Everything works beautifully together, my mouth is awash with flavours though Jackie declares the serious amounts of fresh chili in it are too much for her more delicate palate.

For main I have Casserole of Brill with Caramelised Shallots, Ham , Garlic and Wild Mushrooms. This is quite a rich almost winter style dish but its so beautiful and intense I just wish it would never end. We wash it all down with a crisp Entre Deux Mers ( a sauvignon from the Bordeaux region, a bin end too- excellent and good value) and finish with some equally divine desserts whose pastry is so thin and crisp the pastry chef deserves a michelin star of his own. Before we leave Jackie makes sure she asks the maitre d' for copies of today's menu (each menu is individually printed for the day)

A quick change into leggings and boots and its time to set off back

After coffees we plan on what to do next. The two hour bus service is a bit of a bore so we get a taxi to Watergate Bay (Where Jamie Oliver has his restaurant) and walk back to the hotel from there. It's quite a walk over some fantastic cliff tops. The only downside is that when we reach Newquay's outskirts we have to cut through the dismal town because the tide is in and we can't cross the beaches to the harbour.

Looking back towards Watergate Bay

The good news is that this long walk allows us to start to work up an appetite again, though its after nine before we venture into the restaurant at the Headland Hotel for dinner. Lobster Thermidor for me and for Jackie, Sea Bass. Then it's a walk around the hotel grounds and the headland stretching away into the blackness of the Atlantic Ocean trying to get some good evening pictures of the hotel.

TR Newquay Day 2

2007-09-14T13:55:00.000Z

After a good nights sleep listening to the sea washing against the rocks, a full breakfast in the restaurant sets us up for a mornings walking. We set off down the slope that leads directly down to Fistral Beach. A thick sea fog has descended and its quite eerie, you can only see about 20 or so yardds in front of us yet they are still surfers wandering around (presumably looking for the sea) the lifeguards are patrolling in there vans , calling out that the mist will lift in 30mins or so and not to go in the water until after that time. Halfway along the long beach we come across a group of a dozen or more surfers sat in a circle on the sand practicing with their "surf school" teacher. It's quite an amusing sight, especially as you can hardly see your hand in front of your face, let alone the sea. We finally come to the steps at the end of the beach that lead back up to the cliffs above. Nestled in this corner is a small wooden building on stilts which has a bistro/restaurant on the second floor "The Windswept Cafe" (Wetsuits Welcome), we will be having lunch here on our last day

The Windswept Cafe

We head back in the direction of the town, which in comparism to the harbour and the coastline is a truly depressing example of poor town planning, we quickly depart and climb back down to the beach. The tide is out so are able to walk around the headlands to reach Tolcarne Beach, a lovely expanse of white sands and traditional changing huts. There's a small restaurant and we call in for a drink and watch the sea and soak up some sun. Its hot today, hot enough for the water to be tempting. As it turns out as we walk back the way we came; our destination the New Harbour Restaurant, we have no choice but to take to the sea as the tide is coming and will reach the headlands before we can pass. Shoes removed we paddle around the headlands passing some worrying sites on the way!

Reginald Perrin anyone ?

Dont worry, the owner did return after a quick dip. Out in the sea a Navy Frigate? has appeared this morning and set anchor. It appears to have a team in this weekend's sea rowing races which we can see taking place out in the bay. Today it's the ladies' teams and we can hear the commentary as we walk back through the water nicely cooling down and working up an appetite for lunch. We are going to The New Harbour Restaurant which sits right on the harbour and had been recommended to us by a friend. We had booked in but on arrival appeared to be the only people having lunch so we grabbed a table right in the centre of the terrace on the harbour's edge. I ordered Fruits de Mer and Jackie the Moules Marinere (not technically correct as the mussels came with cream in the sauce, strictly speaking marinere does not contain cream just wine and shallots). My selection was a good plate full of Lobster, Mussels, Crab and a whole Mackerel. Both dishes were very good however I dislike restaurants that seem to make every other item an addition :Salad, Bread, Fries are all extra charges and how are you suppose to eat mussels without bread to dunk? Good wine and we were kept entertained by the ladies rowing and the five resident harbour seals that follow the boats around. Jackie insisted on purely sinful scones with Cornish clotted cream and strawberry jam as a dessert, will have to walk even further tomorrow to get rid of the calories.

I told you we should have set off earlier

We then returned to the Hotel and decided to work of some off those calories by trying the pools. After some time in the outdoor pool swimming and sunning ourselves we moved indoors to try the jacuzi and sauna. Then it was time for a shower and to dress for dinner.

Feeling totally fished out we decide to try the Cornish beef. Fillet Mignon for Jackie in a simple red wine sauce and Sirloin for me which came with a pepper sauce. Though tasty and cooked well I think its best to stick with the fish as I soon became bored with the dish. A steak has to be extra special for me to enjoy, think Shulas at the Swan and Dolphin WDW. A rather fruitless strawberry and rhubarb tart finished Jackies meal but left her wanting. I chose cheese (again) which is not going to do my figure much good but I have no sweet tooth and lots of red wine left.

The New Harbour Restaurant

TR Newquay Day 1

2007-09-13T19:32:00.000Z

We spent the morning of departure passing the time reading Kevins latest trip reports from his last trip. I should have known better than to find his departure story so amusing (well he shouldn't write such funny TRs.) Suffice to say we spent the same amount of time as the flight takes to get from Manchester to Newquay just sat on the tarmac at Manchester whilst a variety of people came on board thumbing through manuals the size of the Encyclopedia Britannia whilst sat on the floor outside the cockpit. Eventually the "technical problem" was solved (presumably they turned it off and turned it on again) and we were on our way. A strange flight (50mins)you climb to 28000ft get a drink and then descend, my first landing whilst still clutching a beer that had only been served to me a few minutes previously. Its a beautiful day and the taxi is waiting for us, driving us straight to the Headland Hotel. I forget until I see it just how much I miss the sea, it looks beautiful here. Check in and check out the room which looks directly out along the headland and has views of the sea on either side. I'm not convinced by the latest addition to the Headland Hotels grounds, a group of self catering cottages they have added, designed like a small village they seem to have the design qualities of a small council estate in the bright sunlight, perhaps they will look better in the dark. Unpack and go straight out and walk to the top of the headland, then follow the coastal path back around to the harbour to check out the restaurant we have booked for lunch tomorrow. (Can you see food is on the mind already)

Newquay Harbour

Return to the Hotel for a quick shower and dress for dinner. The Hotel gives a choice of two Dining Rooms , a slightly more formal restaurant or a brasserie. We opt for the first which has splendid views out over Fistral Beach where surfers are still out catching the late evening waves in the setting sun. Food is gorgeous and all produce is locally sourced from the area. Lobster Thermidor for Jackie which is served with scallops just to make sure your Newquay Shellfish experience starts off with a bang. I order scallops on a bed of spinach cooked in saffron butter to start and follow it with two lovely pieces of Turbot in a broth of asparagus, tomato and saffron potatoes. Both dishes are wonderful though I feel I have had a slight saffron overdose (must read the menus more carefully next time). All this is washed down with a crisp Macon Villages and I finish with an excessive amount of Cornish cheese whilst Jackie plumps for the profiteroles.

The Headland Hotel from Fistral Beach

Anyway all thoughts of the slight delay this morning are banished from our heads. Can't wait for the morning.

Weekend to Newquay

2007-09-07T07:30:00.000Z

Quick update. Today we fly down from Manchester to Newquay. It's always been a dream to stay at the Headland Hotel so we will see if it lives up to expectations. Other things to look forward to are some good rambling down the South West coastal path to Padstow (Phew) though lunch at Rick Steins Seafood Restaurant should be ample reward; review to follow. Other recommendations have been the New Harbour Restaurant and The Windswept Cafe which sits on stilts at the other end of Fistral Beach.
If your wondering about the picture, this is our faithful herd of cows in the field adjoining the garden which wakes us up every morning during the summer months, they are here this morning as I type and I just liked the picture. Ok we had better get Minky off to his holiday home and make sure I (lol) have finished packing.

Dining away from Disney

2007-08-10T19:47:00.000Z

Let's face it, there does seem to be a limit in Disneyland California as to how many places it's possible to eat in DLCA or Downtown Disney CA before the "I am an adult, not an alcoholic" raises its head. Why not look at the success they have had with the better eating venues in DLP ( can you imagine a Frenchman or for that matter anyone in any civilised country allowing you to beautiful food and then refusing you the delight of a matching glass of wine)

So based on that lets look at some initial options for the next Californian trip. I'm ruling out the Californian Adventure options, I was unimpressed by the Vineyard last time and it is not a place that entices me back in the winter months to its outdoor inadequately heated terraces. So I want to look further afield this year even though Catal and the Napa Rose are definites.

One restaurant has struck me as worth checking out, nothing certain yet, but I think its very high up on the list. It looks nicely independent, a bit quirky in a pulp fiction sort of way and just a short taxi drive away in Stanton.

http://www.parkavedining.com/

One thing's for sure, if we do check it, we will be certain to share our views here.

An update

2007-08-09T11:22:00.000Z

The problem with blogs is that they either go wrong, become neglected or simply die under their own weight of information. This blog suffered all three. I'm going to try to update it however.

Whats been happening..

Health wise .. Not that great, things looked promising with the trip to Glasgow but surgery has been ruled out due to the location the surgeon would have to have been entering the brain. Put simply it's too near the hearing and vocal areas to take any risks so its a big no. On the plus side we now know where the problem is so in the future who knows.

Jackie and Markee music/guitars Kosheen

Music wise.. some great concerts over April and May with Kosheen rocking out the Academy Manchester, Marillion going down an absolute storm in Leeds with possibly the concert of the year so far and a fun gig by the Pet Shop Boys at the Apollo. Kosheen and Marillion return to the stage in September and November this year for more.

Holidays, as I mentioned, quite a lot to update including more California, two more trips to WDW Florida and DLP. I will include some fantastic restaurant reports as soon as I can.

The first priority has to be getting the video archives corrected so that they will play properly from this site regardless of what browser you're using. Hopefully the first trial of that will go up today.

Rush MEN Arena on the last tour

Future plans.. Quite a lot really now the house extension is finished.. Quick trip down (by air)to the Headland Hotel in Newquay for some fine food courtesy of Rick Stein (report to follow). Then finally Rush reappear on these shows to hopefully give us a concert to remember, this time however we will be following them over to Amsterdam for the gigs at Rotterdam Arena as well so another nice break there.

Spot of indulgence in November satisfying two of my loves (Disney and all things aviation). A trip back to Disneyland California followed by a stopover for a few more days on the way back in Vegas, timed to coincide with the Nellis AFB 60th anniversary air show http://aviationnation.org/ , can't wait as we've booked a suite at the MGM Signature so I'm not sure we will actually get out of the rooms. http://www.signaturemgmgrand.com/Suites/One-Bedroom.aspx

Ok below is the first test video.. .

Looking Back

2006-08-31T13:14:00.000Z

A look back in time

Currently having a great time with some software and my new scanner that's allowing me to restore my negatives back to their original quality. I noticed recently how all my prints before the advent of digital cameras were starting to get into a shocking condition, fading and rotting away in some cases; and it's slightly defeating the object if I just scan the print, no amount of digital trickery can get rid of the worst of the mess without adding its own layer of noise to the image.

This system allows me to simply feed in the original negatives and create new copies inside the computer. Im doing it at the most basic of resolutions to start with so bear with me, but its already interesting to see how things have changed for better or worse. Spaceship Earth I think looks so much better without the clutter of scaffolding supporting Mickeys arm surrounding it.

Dibb Meet: North West 2006

2006-08-21T18:12:00.000Z

NW Dibb meet Blackpool 2006

So here's the video from yesterday's event in Blackpool. The weather held for us and I think we can agree a great time was had by all. Thanks to Anne for organising again and thanks to all of us for turning up and making it a great occasion.

I have been wanting to use this music for a while because its high octane, making it easy to edit to, so I can get the results out fast. Its quite apt as well as it was quite a mission trying to get the names to the faces, especially for someone with my memory. Anyway I was all set to publish earlier and Jackie has just corrected all my mistakes.

If I have a roll on the floor laughing moment it has to be between Judy clinging on to the steeplechase for dear life and Steve (mapmans) well or ill timed wave (I laugh thinking of that now).

It's so nice to have met you all and we had such a lovely time, again, can't wait to do it all again.

Danny and Jackie

DLP Paris and Studios Video

2006-08-19T17:46:00.000Z

Disneyland Paris and Studios March 06

This video has been a long time coming and for various reasons, initially illness has played a part in delaying it but on top of that I have been frustrated at every turn by my rendering and editing software giving me headaches of diabolical proportions.

In fact I think I have a slight idea now why at premieres of films, after the introductions have been made, the directors usually make a quick exit in the dark by a side door. I really hope I dont have to hear Franz Ferdinand again or struggle with this software.. Time for a major system upgrade I think. I can only assume that the amount of material I have thrown now at this particular package is a bit beyond its limits. Or maybe I just pressed the wrong button in my sleep..

2006-05-27T08:37:00.000Z

Dibb Blackpool Meet 2005

Thanks again to Anne from the Dibb arranging another meet this year. I have added a link below to take you to the video from the 05 meeting. If the link redirects to the homepage of my video server simply select the Dibb Blackpool video it's number 12, you may have to scroll down the list. Don't forget if you want to add your name to the post on the Dibbs forums.

Inventions Restaurant DLP

2006-04-25T07:17:00.000Z

Inventions Restaurant in the Disneyland Hotel

This is the latest in the restaurant reviews from the March trip so click on over using the links on the right and enjoy. Now I am feeeling a little more up to it I will continue with all speed on these reports and the DLP videos. I am also going to try and tidy up the menu system on this blog as its currently set up using an archive method which means things drop off the bottom and have to be accessed via the date archive links on the right. This may mean eventually locating to a new server.

DVD available

2006-04-12T06:32:00.000Z

Quick Update

Just a quick update really to say we will be adding as promised to the blog, however illness this last couple of weeks has kept Danny away from the PC. Of interest though to Mac users is the fact that a beta download from Mac themselves is now available, which allows you to run windows XP SP2 on Intel based Macs http://nl.com.com/view_online_newsletter.jsp?list_id=e497 . This should allow you to view the videos. Failing that Danny has burnt all ten U.S. videos on to a DVD which can be posted at a cost of GBP£2.80 inc p&p within the UK, GBP£4.50 inc p&p for international destinations , if you are interested use the comments button and leave us a message.)

Phantom Manor DLP Video

2006-03-31T12:29:00.000Z

Phantom Manor DLP

Welcome foolish mortals, todays gruesome update is a new video, a ride through, of DLP Phantom Manor. Its not a fully detailed report examining every piece of wallpaper (We do sometimes enjoy riding and soaking up a ride/show without a camera in hand you know) but a little trip to give you just enough feel and atmosphere to remind you and make you want to hurray back (shouldn't Disney pay me for that). Some notes and thanks. When Disneyland Paris opened their dark ride, Phantom Manor, in the early 1990s they had a Vincent Price voice-over as the Phantom. However, French policies indicated that the narration in the beginning of the ride must be in French, so Vincent's English narration was discarded, and Gerard Chevalier got the job as the new 'Phantom.' However, we only hear his voice in the beginning, as Vincent's demonic laughter is still heard throughout the rest of the ride. TY to Imdb for that info and a big TY to The Sound of Magics archive section for the sound edits. Note how in this video we get to see a fleeting glance of Dans pin hat which is slowly getting heavier after each trip. The big win this year being a LE Stitch St Patricks day pin.

Click for Phantom Manor Video

2006-03-29T13:22:00.000Z

Disneyland Paris restaurant reviews.

So far on the dining pages we now have 3 mouth watering, illustrated reviews from the Blue Lagoon, the California Grill and todays update the Manhattan restaurant inside the New York Hotel. Still to come from DLP are reviews for Walts, Inventions and the Silver Spur. Don't forget there are also many more reviews from Florida and California with more to be added as well.

Click here for the latest restaurant reports

2006-03-28T18:50:00.000Z

St Patrick's Day Disneyland Paris

Have a look at our Chip & Dale try Irish dancing extravaganza, including a special pre parade for St Patricks day. We were very fortunate over these few days to be given clear bright blue skies with no rain whatsover. However it was cold, so if your wondering why some shots are not quite as steady as normal, especially in the close ups, you have our excuse already.This video is slightly different than our normal style as it concentrates a little more on the parade and the special St Patricks day events. This is the first of our Paris videos...more coming soon. Dont forget to leave a comment

Click for Video

2006-03-27T07:56:00.000Z

DLP Castle by night

A little update today. We are part way through the editing of the first video for DLP. This has taken a little longer because there are a couple of key things that required suitable music, namely the St Patricks day celebrations. I also have a hospital appointment today so I have been preparing myself for that as well, its been a little on my mind as it has approached, hence the lack of updates. Anyway hopefully this week we will have a short video ready and will get all the DLP restaurant reports uploaded.

The picture above is Jackies handywork, I took four attempts at this long exposure of the castle but the evening chill caused my hands to shake everytime. Jackie got it in one, with a little help from the railings in Discoveryland and her big thick pink gloves. Au revoir Danny and Jackie.

Click for Blue Lagoon Paris report

2006-03-21T18:19:00.000Z

Just back from Disneyland Paris

We are back from a fab few days in DLP. Coming soon are reviews of all the best restaurants in the parks and Disney hotels. First up is the California Grill at The Disneyland Hotel. Also to come are our videos of the Studios including the construction of Tower of Terror and Disneyland Park with St Patrick's Day celebrations with Chip n Dale.

Click for California Grill Paris report

2006-03-15T09:17:00.000Z

Space Mountain at Disneyland Paris

Just a quick update this morning. In a few hours time we will be setting off to DLP. We will bring a full update when we return plus lots of new video reports and dining information. In the meantime here are a couple of easy links to the videos or the restaurant reviews.

Click for trip Videos

Click for restaurant reviews

2006-03-14T10:19:00.000Z

The V&A Restaurant at the Grand Floridian

Another restaurant review today to please all the foodies. This one is from our Christmas 04/05 trip and is lavishly illustrated so don't even think of looking on an empty stomach.We visited the V&A at the end of our Christmas to New Year trip and what a perfect conclusion to a wonderful holiday.
We must thank Susan for pointing out that the comments links have not been working, hopefully we have fixed this. If you're looking for any of the videos remember you can just scroll down the page to a video link or use the archives or previous post links to the right.

Click for V&A report

2006-03-13T13:40:00.000Z

Inside the ToT

We now have ten videos on stream for you to view on the server with High Definition pictures and CD quality sound. On Wednesday its off to DLP to start filming more footage to share on our return. We have had a few desperate emails requesting ways for firefox and mac owners to view the videos and have come up with the solution of putting all 10 films onto one DVD . The DVD resolution and sound is actually superb as we only ever record in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen. Please keep clicking on the sponsors and advertisers links to keep the video streaming going or use the google link on this page to visit your next random surf.

Click for Video

2006-03-12T09:27:00.000Z

Narcoossees food review

We're a little unfamiliar with the GF resort but finally found Narcoossees with help from a CM. Our timing couldn't have been more perfect, on arrival the lights dimmed and we all trooped outside to see the vintage Water Pageant which we had never seen before, it's so adorable. Then Disney's famous Wishes show took to the skies. Music is piped onto Narcoossees deck area to provide a delightful pre dinner showing.

Click for Narcoossees report

2006-03-11T10:54:00.000Z

Walts restaurant DLP

Have just come off the phone this morning after a smooth and painless experience booking all our dining reservations for next week. The first choice has been one of our favourites "Walts" which is on Main street, the restaurant is upstairs and has several intimate rooms all with a different style of decor. Last time we were there it was Christmas and you could look down on main street as snow gently fell every half hour, in true Disney style.

Our other choices are Blue Lagoon(similar to Blue Bayou in DL),Inventions in the Disneyland hotel, Silver Spur in Frontierland, Manhattan in the New York hotel, and California Grill, again in the Disneyland Hotel. We have as usual chosen full table service restaurants for that long well earned break, with the added pleasure of knowing one can enjoy a beautiful bottle of wine to compliment the meal in the French park. Can not wait to start writing the reviews.

Click for Disney Dining reviews

2006-03-10T21:13:00.000Z

Dinner at Jiko's AKL

Another foodie update today you will be pleased to see. I have once again illustrated this with some lovely food photos and included the price. One thing I have not mentioned is our transportation arrangements between our base, Disney's Port Orleans Riverside and the restaurants. We used Disney's transportation if the hotel could be easily reached from the TTC for example Narcoossee's. The rest of the time we took taxis which on average cost $20 each way, remember WDW is a big place. So remember to budget for this.

Click for Jiko review

2006-03-09T10:11:00.000Z

California Part 2 Video

Another video is uploaded and ready. This one looks at the Hollywood area before taking us to Universal Studios, Six Flags Magic Mountain and ends with a visit to the famous Lawry's Prime Rib restaurant in Beverly Hills, with a look at the Disney re-imagineered Encounters restaurant at LAX, where we enjoyed a great meal and wine whilst watching our flight arrive. This has to be the best place to pass time, from that horrible moment from checking in to boarding, we have found . You will probably spot the opening sequence is the same as one other video. Once I had decided on the music it just fitted so well (though actually the day we arrived it was hot and sunny, this was filmed from Encounters before we left) I just had to use it again to set the mood. There's a review of Encounters coming soon on the dining pages and we must give a big thankyou to Susan for recommending this. It made the start of the journey home a pleasure.

2006-03-08T20:49:00.000Z

Fantasmic dining at the Brown Derby

There's a new entry on the dining pages tonight, showing the delights of the Brown Derby's Fantasmic Dinner Package. Click below for the article or use the dining link on the left. I will have part two of the California videos on stream later, this will be showing some familiar sights as well as taking you to Universal Studios, Six Flags Magic Mountain and the iconic Disney re-imagineered Encounters restaurant at LAX.

Brown Derby review

2006-03-08T08:55:00.000Z

Haunted Mansion MK

The restaurant reviews are now coming along, there's a new dining link on the right. We are working on part two of the Californian trip, the first section is almost complete and the music edited, the Six Flags MM section is still being edited. In preperation for next weeks DLP trip lenses are being cleaned and batteries charged, apart from the one that still lies under a coaster somewhere in California, the G forces having removed it from Jackies pocket in much the same way they removed our R.P.R room keys in I.O.A. Florida. I have also moved all the Busch Gardens and WDW Port Orleans Resort clips onto the Hard Drive ready to edit which should be fun. The Fantasmic video seems to have gone down well looking at the viewing figures but unfortunately it brought the server to its knees at one point. Everything seems fine now, just give it a little time to load as its four times longer than our other videos.

2006-03-07T12:04:00.000Z

Food Glorious Food

Just a quick mention of what's coming up. Researching and finding quality dining plays a major role in the planning of all our holidays. I have now begun adding links to all our favourite spots and letting you see some of the beautiful food we have eaten there. I will also make sure you get the full low down on ambiance, service and of course value for money. First up is a review of the restaurant we visited on Christmas Eve 2005 in DTD California's "Catal". I hope you're enjoying the videos, new ones are on the way very soon. We have more from California: including Hollywood, Universal and Six Flags MM. There is also a quick look at the Port Orleans Resort in Orlando and a very hot day at Busch Gardens.

Please make sure you click on the sponsors at the bottom so my video server can keep running at maximum speed.

Catal review

2006-03-06T11:05:00.000Z

A Californian Fantasmic 05

This video was shot in Disneyland California on Boxing Day 2005. Despite capacity crowds I was impressed by the park’s sit down policy, which gave everyone a nice clear view.
The original California show has a couple of major differences to the Florida remix and not just in the score. Not only do you get the mighty Peter Pan sequence on the beautiful Columbia tea clipper and the full compliment of characters aboard the Mark Twain, but also the setting is on the Magic Kingdom’s lake.
The original plan whilst shooting this video was to shoot the highlights of the show over two nights. However this could not be done due to illness.
I have stuck to my original plan and with some careful re editing and reframing of shots managed to put together what I envisaged.

P.S. We seem to have a Mickey who loves to rock out big style at the end of the show. Enjoy.

Danny and Jackie.

Part 1

Part 2

2006-03-03T10:35:00.000Z

Soarin over California Christmas 05

Part 1

We have just finished putting the final touches to this video. Jackie has been burning the midnight oil reviewing the rough clips before she came upon the idea of having two videos to cover Disney. One that would be based around the E ticket shows of each park, namely Fantasmic and Aladdin and another that would be a kind of tour of the parks. On this trip I lost a day of filming due to having to rest due to illness, which meant I had less coverage than I would normally like to have. This video therefore is a gentle introduction to the two contrasting parks in California. I have to admit there is something very special about the California MK. Despite its diminutive size, once you enter the gates it really is like entering a whole new world metres away from the freeway. There is also an added feeling as you stand in the town square and look up at the apartment above the fire station that this is the original home of Disney. I particularly like the lightness of touch and scale here on Main Street and the grand old buildings of New Orleans square, this has to be the best looking area in any Disney Park. We flew into LAX on a KLM flight. On our final day as we enjoyed a meal in the Encounters restaurant in the middle of the airports parallel runways we managed to get some footage of our outbound plane arriving on a wet New Years eve, just shows what juggling the footage around can achieve as this scene now opens the video, quite apt when you consider the music.With regard to the music the track has quite high dynamics so you may need to notch up the volume a touch. Subwoofers and a good set of speakers will help get this music across as the composer intended.

Danny and Jackie

2006-03-02T13:14:00.000Z

Disneyland California update

Just a quick update today. All the files and footage are now on the hard drive and some rough editing is in place. I have not yet decided on the pace and feel for this video though yet. After experimenting with a faster pace I have now (at least for the moment, anything can change) decided to keep it more based around some of the parks themes. I`ll have an experiment and see how it works out. We spent last night watching some of the rough Fantasmic footage, we love the show in this park, it's where we first saw it when it premiered and it feels so much more intimate yet large scale at the same time compared to the Florida version, the music is much more cohesive as well. Its hard though trying to find music that ties into California Adventure and the Magic Kingdom as the parks are so different (Im pretty sure I'll be doing one longish film rather than a film for each). Anyway back to the editing desk.

2006-03-02T12:27:00.000Z

Universal I.O.A and Studios

I had a couple of Emails asking me about the Universal Video so I decided to give it some space on the blog in much the same way as I have included Sea World. This video was a much more relaxed affair to shoot as we didnt have as many time constraints(We even made it into the pool for 30mins before getting bored and going back to the parks). We were staying in the Royal Pacific Resort which meant we had front of the line access which was a bonus, incidently we lost our room keys and passes after riding dueling dragons on the front row so I don't recommend the Universal neck wallets to display your key/FOTL pass. I decided to try to get Jackie to dance to the music in the parks a couple of times knowing I could perhaps intergratethose scenes with the music I would dub into the video, this does help to give another dimension to the finished article. If I had known I was going to use U2s vertigo at the time maybe I would have had a go at miming the chorus (correction I would get Jackie to mime as she probably would look more at ease than me..lol). If you want to see an example of this done well check out Robb Alveys video of the opening of the Hades coaster on the Theme Park Review site. I mixed the two parks up and experimented with some fast jump cutting in this for the first time which helped when it came to the Epcot video.

2006-03-01T13:20:00.000Z

Sea World

We visited Sea World on this trip as usual and caught the new Dolphin show Horizons (after riding Kraken four or five times of course). Sea World was having quite a ball that weekend as it was the free Halloween event and the park was very busy and very very hot. How those kids manage to survive in their polyester outfits amazes me. We had another great lunch in Sharks though I do wish they would introduce another table service restaurant. This video is in some ways like the Animal Kingdom video. I have actually used a climactic segment of music from the Horizons show itself which blends beautifully in to the feel of this park. Enjoy.